Dear Mom,
Let's be honest, no judgement or anger, you are the most overbearing mom I know. Before you say the generic sentence, “It’s coming out of a place of love,” I need everyone to understand something. I get good grades, am never out past curfew, and apply myself in everything I do. With these statements in mind let's think about your actions….Life 360 on my phone at all times, my room has to be pristine, and I can’t complain about anything. Ever.
Maybe these problems seem unimportant to you, but I can't take it anymore. Anything I do isn't good enough, either it’s not done or it’s not done well enough. From a parent perspective I understand your unconditional love and want for me to be safe, but it is exhausting to get yelled at everyday for nothing. Your tantrums around insignificant issues ruin my day and I am old enough to be able to inform you without a terrible response.
By now, you are probably furious and, hopefully, giving you at least one example will help, so here you go. Just two days ago I called you on the phone, in a high-stress situation. There was a gate, which would not open, in front of me and a vehicle behind as I tried to enter the parking garage. The clicker, usually in the glove compartment, which opens the gate was nowhere to be found. I called to ask for advice on where the clicker was and how to get out of the situation. I was in a difficult spot with little driving experience. Do you know what your response was? “Why are you yelling at me? I am so sick of you yelling.” For one, I was not yelling, and two, if you were in that circumstance you would have broken my phone with your volume levels. You scream all day, but I can’t raise my voice when my car is entrapped, I’m getting honked at, and you aren’t telling me where the clicker is.
Mom, I love you but it’s too much, please think before you shout. It gets nothing done and cripples my emotions. As a young adult I feel it is time to voice my opinions without backlash. Please, stop acting like the world will end when I forget my keys or there is one item of clothing on my floor. Love, your daughter "Student"
Audience- Teens with overbearing parents.
Purpose- For teens to be inspired and confident enough to speak up for themselves against their parents. Creativity: I made a few choices creativity to help achieve my purpose of teens to speak up for themselves. I used the letter format to help the teens reading that they are not alone and everyone at some point goes through overbearing parents. This helps develop the reader's confidence to take to their parents. I also used an almost aggressive and aggravated tone throughout to show my frustration and to hopefully resonate with the readers as well. I also picked a topic that resonates with me and I feel very strongly about which I think helps the reader feel empowered.
(my response to teacher)
That's a pretty telling piece of writing. It's not surprising at all. The relationship of Student to schooling is so fraught and weighted. If she doesn't get an A she feels like a failure. and, according to her mom, she has earned ONLY As since pre-K. So, what happens when she doesn't get the A? It's a shock to her self-conception, one that has been publicly flaunted (likely) by her mom. This is such an HC story. I feel empathy for Student (and her mom). They are both stuck in these narratives about grades/college/success. In my own role, I feel like I still need to take some steps in getting better... which means talking to her teacher, working through the thing that tells her to reject "unwanted challenge" to her self conception..... and might help her become more resilient.
