... before I run away from home. To tell the truth, I often cry myself to sleep at night. Don't tell me to talk to my father. He's always on her side. And don't tell me my mother “loves” me and is only doing things for my own good.
I write to her:
What you told me doesn't shock me at all. All most every normal teenager alternately loves and hates his parents. It's not easy to be criticized, restricted, corrected, and disciplined day in and day out. But parents who really love their children proved it by consistently letting their children know what is expected of them. Parents who are “soft” and permissive rear confused, insecure children. I don't expect you to agree with me today, but keep what I tell you and read it again three years from now, and then you'll understand it perfectly. You are lucky. You are loved.