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.

Vanessa Patrick

My parents were a wonderful combination of strict discipline where it mattered and completely fun and easy-going in everything else. We lived in a gated community that often hosted big lavish weddings with thousands of people in attendance. Read more>>

Hykeem Johnson

Being from a city of mixed cultures that varies from French, Indian/Indigenous, African, & Spanish, we all as a city grew up learning each of the cultures ways of living, rules, & common courtesies. Read more>>

Gianna Militana

The impact my parents have had on me has been tremendous. They were the first people to show me that I am never alone. Growing up, they were always so supportive and encouraging in just about every way. Read more>>

Megan Barr

My parents did a fantastic job raising successful kids. I’m the oldest of three siblings. Even though I’m a twin, my sister will tell you I’m the oldest- we are only separated in age by a few minutes but they mattered. Read more>>

Sima Clark

While my parents divorced when I was very young and my mom raised us practically by herself, my parents exemplified the level of perseverance that a young lady who would find herself parentless at 19 would totally need to survive in this big gigantic world. Read more>>

Dustin Scully

When I was young I grew up in front of the TV… Now most of the time, my family didn’t have cable or satellite TV, but we had a wide collection of movies and classic tv shows on tape and DVD. Read more>>

Zandara Kennedy

The best thing my parents ever did for me was not set any limits or state any expectations about what I could or should do. I have no idea what they hoped I would grow up to do and I never heard anything about how women are supposed to behave or what they should do for work. Read more>>

Judy Lane-Boyer

My parents did so many things right. It’s easy when the baggage they left us gets in our way to focus on the negative, but the reality is, at least in my case, that they gave me far more good things than bad. Read more>>

Abigail Powers

My journey into a career in art was paved with unwavering support from my parents, who stood by me every step of the way. Despite my academic prowess and the many other career options available to me, they recognized my passion for art and nurtured it wholeheartedly. Read more>>

Lucky Anderson

I am so thankful for my parents and all they poured into me as a shy little girl!! My mother taught me how to bake when I was 6 and would take me to arts and crafts stores weekly until I was able to take myself. Read more>>

BF Reed

I was very fortunate in having the parents that I had. They put up with me drawing on my bedroom walls as a young child. When they painted the walls and admonished me about marking the walls again, they listened to my plan and plea to do a mural on my bedroom wall when I was a teenager. Read more>>

Gini Sikes

My parents indulged their children’s every creative whim. At 6, I loved animals. I snuck dead squirrels and birds into our basement, where I’d to try to bring them back to life—because I was obsessed with Frankenstein. Read more>>

Anthony Nguyen Mindy Le

Anthony & Mindy are both Vietnamese-Americans that were brought up in traditional Vietnamese households that instilled the values of hard work, discipline, and helping others throughout their childhood. Read more>>

Tova Leibovic-Douglas

My parents come from entirely different worlds. My dad’s family were holocaust survivors and Ultra-Orthodox, and my mom’s family were Southern Methodists. Read more>>

Tina Parol

I am the daughter of immigrants who came to America for a better life with only $75 and one suitcase between them. My father fled then Communist Poland for Sweden at the age of 21. Read more>>

Jael Salas

Ever since I was a child I always saw my parents helping silently when they could and where they could. If they found out about a family who couldn’t afford school clothes at the church I grew up in, they were they to help. Read more>>

Kassi Scarlett

My mother has been instrumental in broadening our perspectives by introducing my brother and me to unconventional lifestyles and innovative modes of thinking regarding societal structures. Read more>>

Jody Parmann

Growing up at the bend on a rural dead end road, I once wanted to fly a kite but we didn’t have one. So, my dad and I used what we found around the house—garbage bags, tape, yarn, and sticks—to make our own. Read more>>

Zoe Taylor

My parents have always been a little confused about what I do, but they’ve never told me I couldn’t do it. When I told them what I wanted to study as a senior in high school, I was met with their efforts to help me keep my future career on its feet: Read more>>

TamCTown

My parents definitely laid the first foot stones during my artistic journey. Both of my parents are strong-willed hard workers. I remember watching them work multiple jobs throughout my life. Read more>>

Diane Grimm

My mom was an immigrant from Uruguay and came to Houston in the early 80’s. To be honest, she didn’t really want to come here, she was happy in her country and was hoping to open a boutique in her little town but didn’t really have a choice when my dad made the decision to move to the US to chase the American Dream. Read more>>

Monique Christine

Before we go any further, I think it important to acknowledge the difference between someone being plugged in as a parent versus someone who simply contributes their DNA to create a new life… Read more>>

Pengyifan Lou

My parents always supported and respected me and my decisions. I remember hearing my teenage friends saying this often, “I wish my parents would let me do that.” Read more>>

KOZ SILVERTUNA STUDIOS

I was blessed to have two artistic parents that supported everything I did. No matter how insane it was. From showing up at my skate contests and my pops shooting skate photos to buying me my first professional camera. Read more>>

Bre Nasty

My parents made sure that I was well versed in the arts from a very young age. As a classically trained pianist from the age of 5, my parents made sure that I was well equipped to take off making music whenever I was ready. Read more>>

Angela Dawson

I’ll always appreciate my parents for allowing me to be open and express my creativity. They always encouraged me to try new things whether it was activities, hobbies, fashion trends, or my way of thinking. Read more>>

Andrew “Apse” Horner

My dad worked me so hard, I got a farm job at 15, working 60 hrs/wk, to catch some peace. The man always had a repair, remodel, or deep cleaning project going on at our home or serving someone else. Read more>>