As time at University has passed I’ve found it a lot easier to assert requests that I make to my parents. This isn’t to say that it wasn’t easy before, or that they aren’t approachable human beings who wouldn’t listen to my requests. It’s just that there was always this question that lingered in the back of my head – asking me “why” I was asking them for something. Like, I always felt, and this is something I think I conjured out of my imagination, that I had to justify every request I made to them.
See, it’s likely that this arose because of how I was brought up. But it’s also something I could have grown out of a lot quicker. I’m glad, however, that I didn’t. Because now when I think about requests I make to people: like asking for help, I think about why I’m asking or reaching out for it. In my head, and I don’t know how to explain it – it makes it easier to reach out to people and ask for things, because I know I’m not asking things without purpose or reason.
And it’s very strange.
But asserting bigger requests with my parents – like purchasing things, has gotten way easier since I’ve come to college. By this I mean that there’s more of a discussion on whether to purchase something, or whether alternatives are available, and such – rather than questioning about why I want something. That’s something I’m appreciative of, today. It’s taught me a fair bit.
Tejas Rao 