Open+Letter

Tiffany Creal October 2, 2010 English 103 11:00 Open Letter Dear Mom, I know you love me and that’s greatly appreciated. However, I feel that the way you care about me has hindered my independence. There comes a time in every parent’s life when they must let go of their child so he or she can become a productive adult citizen. The time for you to do this is now. As a college student I am here to grow and learn how to take care of myself and be on my own. I know that all people need help sometimes but that doesn’t mean someone much watch over them at every step. It’s just like when a baby is first learning to walk, if you pick them up every time they fall, they’ll never want to walk. Do you really want me to be overly dependent on you for the rest of my life? Could you actually see me needing everything from you until you pass away? Any parent being overprotective is normal, but your level of it isn’t. I feel your over protectiveness has caused me to miss out on so many opportunities especially when it came to having good times with friends and family. There were times I would even refuse to ask you to do something or go somewhere because I already knew your answer would be along the lines of, “Maybe next time, or I have to work or I don’t have enough money.” I know I can’t change the past but I hope understanding this will make things better for the future. I only wish you could see a glimpse of my day to day routine to realize that I’m doing well. Every day isn’t easy but I always have to look at the fact the I am creating my future now. It has been shown that most young adults that were sheltered in their childhood are more likely to “wild out” as some would say the first time they are away from home for an extended period of time. Fortunately, I haven’t become one of those people even though I have done things here that I know you wouldn’t approve of in any way. What I need is for you to accept the fact that I’m not getting any younger and I must branch out on my own. I no longer want you to tell me that I shouldn’t get a job while in school or not to worry about anything. Let’s face it, all adults have something to worry about and trust me when I say that I have plenty of worries. Just believe that I can do things for myself. I understand that you’re my mom and that I’m the only child you have. I just want to be able to develop into the woman I should be. There is so much for me to do in this world and I don’t want to miss out just because I’m thinking about your feelings. I sincerely hope that you understand where I’m coming from considering you were my age once. Me gaining my independence is very important to me and I hope you’ll slowly but surely let me go. Love, Tiffany