Today we’d like to take a moment to applaud the parents who despite many challenges, did they best they could and did right by their kids. We asked folks to share stories of what they feel their parents got right and have shared highlights below.

Debbie Quick

My parents were truly adept at instilling valuable lessons during my childhood. They imparted the significance of unconditional love and cultivated my curiosity by emphasizing that boredom is virtually non-existent when fueled by a curious mind. Read more>>

Amanda Comage-Trower

As a young child, I had parents that were born to socialize. They would model for me and my siblings on a consistent basis how to introduce yourself to strangers and how to dress and show confidence even if you were scared, nervous or didn’t feel like you belonged. Read more>>

Melissa Balkon

My parents were hard-working, industrious people. They weren’t extravagant or driven by cultural trends, but instead opting to focus on being prepared for the future. Read more>>

Janay Lebsock

I come from a loving and supportive household. My parents, Kip and Christy, have always been my solid foundation in life and they are two of my favorite people. Read more>>

Lì Lìmìtless

My mother instilled in me the values of hard work, perseverance, and kindness from a young age, and these principles have profoundly impacted both my personal life and career. Read more>>

Ziera Laenae

So for most of my life, I was raised by my mom (with the help of family members). Even with everything on her plate she still found ways to feed into my hobbies and ideas. Read more>>

Micah Lynn Hanson

My parents never pushed or encouraged their children to go to college unless it was a career that truly needed that higher education. As I watch my piers struggling under a mountain of student debt, I could not be more grateful that they were so open minded about something so controversial. Read more>>

Olivia Stauber

I was lucky enough to have parents that encouraged my creativity from a young age. At age three, my mom was blown away by some of the drawings I was doing and took them to an art teacher. Read more>>

Monica Sunny

After moving to Georgia from India at a young age, I didn’t see many women of color in leadership or entrepreneurial roles. Even In the South Asian community, most businesses were run by men, including my own Dad. Read more>>

Megan Ketch

My parents secured my life such that I felt free to be creative. The habit of my creativity I owe to the life they provided me and to their example as creatives. Read more>>

Kaitlin & Paul Kindman

Kaitlin: From a very young age, my parents frequently said I had “leadership potential.” This was code for “you’re being a big pain in my butt and asking tough questions and you’re only 3!” Read more>>

The Joy 5ive

We were all taught music theory and several instruments from very young! That’s what has helped us develop into a band, learn together and perform! Read more>>

Ella Wren Running-Rabbit

My parents were house sitting for a friend and I was born on that friends couch on March 31 in Ward, Colorado. Initially my mom wanted to have me in our tiny off-the-grid cabin, but her water broke almost two weeks before the due date. Read more>>

Sarah Elizabeth Wymer

My parents not only gave me freedom to dream but gave me a space to create and pursue. Anytime there was an audition my parents, and grandma always made sure I made it, no matter how far away it was. Read more>>

Megan B

I am so blessed and grateful to have the love, support, and encouragement from both of my parents. From a young age, they enabled my creativity and passion for music to flow freely, and quickly established themselves as my “biggest fans”. Read more>>

Jay Miller

My parents always supported me. I never had the issue like so many others of struggling to achieve the approval from their parents through a career path. Read more>>

Jenny Stollmaier

My parents married young and had my older sister at the age of 18. I was born 3 years later. They worked hard to raise us and never took a handout or complained.. Read more>>

Oni

I am so grateful for my parents because they were my first and biggest supporters in my life. From a young age I showed interest in the arts, and my mother seeing that made sure to encourage me. Read more>>

Ben Davis

I was raised on three core principles: education, discipline, and ethical behavior, instilled by my grandparents who endured racial injustices in the South. Their mantra was to strive for excellence to overcome inequality. Read more>>

India Hearne

I have wonderful parents who have supported my creative side and everything I do from day one. My mom and dad owned their own business when I was growing up, so I was able to learn first-hand what it takes to run a business. Read more>>

Nikita Verenych

My siblings and I were brought up in a nurturing and loving Christian household. Our parents, a steadfast presence throughout both joyous and challenging moments, consistently reminded us not to prioritize the pursuit of money but rather to follow our true callings. Read more>>

CAMILLE LEWIS

I’ve always had a fondness for this question. Growing up, I gravitated towards a softer approach, balancing a gentle demeanor with outspokenness. Outdoor sports and sweating weren’t my preference. Read more>>

Susan Hohman

My Father was a fantastic artist. He enjoyed drawing, painting and loved building things even as a child. Back then, he was not permitted to even think about pursuing anything creative for an education or career choice. Read more>>

Julie Simpson

I grew up in a home where my parents started their own business when I was in elementary school. They both grew up in homes where their parents started a business or many different businesses and they were able to see first hand the hard work, grit and creativity that it took to start, work and grow a business. Read more>>

Sachi F

One thing I always stress is how grateful I am for my parents support of my creativity growing up. No matter what I wanted to do as a kid, whatever my dream of the week was, they would always tell me to follow it and not let anything hold me back. Read more>>

Lena McCain

One of the biggest things my mom did right was taking a big risk moving from small-town suburban Illinois to Phoenix, Arizona, and, for better or worse, with little to no warning. Read more>>

Adri Richey

What did my mom do right: I grew up really poor, no food in the fridge, newspaper instead of toilet paper, foreclosed house, no furniture, 3 jobs to pay for high school and college, and lots of coffee to keep my scholarship. Read more>>

Nita Mendoza

I would rephrase the question “What did your parents do right?” to “Did your parents ever put their egos aside and listen to their tiny human?” When my sister, Miriam, and I were in high school, we both expressed a dedicated interest in pursuing a creative career and I know at that moment, my parents’ stomachs dropped when they first heard that. Read more>>

Paul Gronner

I was raised by a single mother from pretty much the beginning. My father died at 9 months old which left her doing whatever she could to raise us. As an artist she worked so many angles creatively to give us a good life. Read more>>

Evelyn Conway

I was blessed growing up to have parents who were incredibly supportive of the arts. My mom is an interior designer and I have relatives on either side of my extended family who paint professionally. Read more>>

Emily Hoyle

My mum is the reason my story is a success. From an early age she supported my goals, never once questioning my decisions to be in the creative arts. Growing up, she worked in the corporate world. Read more>>

Darrell Hughes

Out of the many lessons my parents taught me, teaching me how to pray and have faith is the most important. Discipline, persistence and focus also played an important role on who I am today. Read more>>

Kerry Mayfield

While growing up, I thought my parents were mean and never understood what I was going through. My parents taught me perseverance and commitment. Read more>>