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.

Ramisa Fariha

Growing up as a neurodivergent kid who defied social norms was far from easy. Picture a small town in the U.S. in the ’70s or ’80s—this was my hometown, where we had one shared desktop for the entire family and lived in a multigenerational home filled with cousins and grandparents. Since my sibling and cousins were all boys, I chose NOT to identify as a girl. I dressed, acted, and even adopted a male pseudonym, making everyone call me Shah Rukh Khan after the famous Bollywood actor. I played with cars, airplanes, Legos, and spent hours watching sports—activities that clashed with the traditional expectations for girls at the time. Read more>>

Ray Vidal

My parents trusted in my pursuit of happiness and navigation in finding wanted I to do early on. I come from a very musical family. My mom plays piano and can read music at a concert level and my dad was a profession full time touring drummer from the Philippines. That is how they met actually working on a cruise ship sailing the Caribbean sea playing music and providing entertainment every night for people around the world. My moms job was to put on the events and programming with the band and that’s how they got to fall in love. Growing up music was a big part of our family and up brining. My parents instruments were our toys. Read more>>

Holly Owens

My parents were always understanding and supportive people who wanted to see me doing anything I was passionate about, whether it was with animals, art or another venture. They allowed me to have all kinds of exotic pets which fostered my interest in herpetology further even if they thought it was crazy. My mom connected me with my first job in 2014 of taking care of an exotic breeding collection of snakes, lizards and other various species which I loved. I worked there throughout high school and went to exotic trade shows like Repticon where I got to connect with other people who loved the hobby and studied like I did. I ended up with my first parrot, who is a cockatiel named Sonny from one of those shows in 2015 as well as bearded dragons, geckos and various other lizards. Read more>>

Gina Boedeker

They showed us that we were the priority — always. They always showed up. For example, when I was growing up, I played 3 sports for my high school for 4 years. I was a gymnast and played on a competitive club volleyball team. I always had some event that I had to attend, always a crazy schedule, I had older brothers with schedules equally as crazy as mine. And I can count on one hand the number of games they missed. Same with concerts, recitals. They just didn’t miss. Ever. It has been one of the most profound realizations as I’ve gotten older, started a family, and built a business. They didn’t sacrifice time with their kids (or each other) for their careers. Read more>>

Alexandra Meredith

I was fortunate to be raised by two parents that love me unconditionally. I grew up in a Christian household where Christ has always been the center of my life. My mother was a wedding photographer and she taught me everything I know when it comes to taking a photo, to working Adobe Photoshop. My father has always been in electronic sales, and it was always extremely fascinating watch him succeed at doing what he loves. He taught me how to work in business, down to giving a solid handshake. Some of my fondest memories with my dad regarding career inspiration was listening how he took business calls, and he showed me how to build a resume.  Read more>>