A “Thank You” To My Great Parents

The other day, I was watching Dogtooth, a film made by one of my favorite directors, Yorgos Lanthimos. It
follows a father who rules over his family like a dictator, sequestering his adult children in his estate and
implementing elaborate methods of intimidation, fear, deception, and manipulation to discourage them from
leaving. It’s a fascinating film that explores the power that parents can -- and do -- have over their children and
how instrumental they are in who they become as adults. After watching it, I realized that you could be anyone --
any race, any nationality, any class, any religion -- but if you don’t have loving and supportive parents, your life
will be hard. I, fortunately, do have great parents, and I'm reminded of this every day.
Every step of the way, my parents have prepared me and my siblings for success. My twin brother, Russell,
and I are heading off to college this year and my sister, Ava, is going into her 4th year. All three of us have gotten
full scholarships to our respective schools and won’t have any student debt, and that’s all thanks to my parents.
Our futures may be uncertain but it’s relieving to know we’ll be able to live the next few years of our lives without
that weighing over us. This is not just due to my parent’s help throughout the scholarship process, but things
they've done all our lives. My mother, a writer herself, likes to say that they started reading to us right when we
were born -- and to my knowledge, this is true. Some of my earliest memories are of my father reading Where The
Wild Things Are and Shel Silverstein poems to us at a young age. Because of their ceaseless dedication to this, all
three of us gained an appreciation for reading and writing that we’ve carried with us throughout school. They
never hounded us about our grades or created an atmosphere where we were afraid of failure, instead instilling in
us a desire to succeed not because they expect it but because we know we can. An intrinsic desire to do well plus
the smile on my dad’s face when I’d show him my straight A’s or my test scores were all the motivation I needed.
They’ve also supported every single passion I've had -- whether it was enrolling me in a painting class
when I was eight, driving me to chorus practice for five years and attending each of my concerts, getting me news
lenses and camera equipment for my birthday, or sacrificing many Saturday mornings to take the metro with me
to DC so I can attend a protest. I may not sing at the Strathmore anymore, but throughout my childhood, my
parents have shown me that I can do whatever I put my mind to and, as long as I express genuine interest, they
will sacrifice their time and energy to help me achieve my goals.
There is so much more they’ve done for me, I can’t even begin to enumerate it all.
To my mother specifically: Thank you for photographing our entire childhood -- I love looking back on
those pictures and getting a glimpse into the life I no longer remember; Thank you for always being willing to
listen, even when you’re working, even when it’s 2 am and I’m stressing out about something that doesn’t really
matter; Thank you for juggling the impossible task of having a full-time job and taking care of all of us. You’re a
superhero.
To both of my parents: Thank you for never minimizing our feelings; Thank you for allowing us to develop
our own opinions and beliefs; And lastly, thank you for making it clear every day that we’re all loved.

By Alana Campbell