Life is not always fair...

Growing up was hard sometimes.  Hearing "life is not always fair", and knowing that I would eventually have to be accountable for myself was both sad and scary.  I truly believe that being told these things over and over is what pushed me to pursue an education and allowed me to attain a great career - even though I ended up in a field entirely different that I was educated for.  Who knows, it might not be too late to be a microbiologist, right?!

We all have our own personal issues with our upbringing and I'm sure that not one person has had a perfect childhood.  That being said, I'm actually thankful that I was not surrounded by people who enabled me to be helpless and tolerated my outbursts and tantrums.  I did not have problem avoiders in my life who encouraged me to blame everyone but myself for my problems and expect my emotional well being to be someone else's responsibility.

I can stand on my own two feet and pay my own way in life.  I am not emotionally or financially dependent to the extent that I would be homeless should something extreme change in my circumstances.  I hope to teach my kids the same things so that they will always be able to take care of themselves and that they can make their own way in life without leeching off of others.