During your most recent visit home, your mother expressed that she “doesn’t understand why you’re not more confident,” despite having spent the last 25 years trying to get you to conform precisely to her idea of who you should be and how you should behave.
“You were so good when you were in ballet. What happened?” your mom questioned, forgetting that you had never wanted to do ballet, and were forced to participate for six years even though you cried prior to every recital. “That could have really built up your confidence if you didn’t give up on it so quickly.”
Despite having brushed off any of your preferences for hobbies, opinions, and expressions of self-identity as you “just not understanding how the world works” for a quarter century, your mom still doesn’t understand why you aren’t more sure of yourself as an adult.
“I feel like I raised you better than this,” your mom said, despite having raised you in a way that would lead to this exact cauldron of insecurity, lack of identity, and anxiety. “I knew we shouldn’t have let you go to public school.”
When you began to explain how some of her parenting decisions may have affected your confidence, your mom interrupted.
“No, I don’t think that’s right,” she said when you mention that maybe you weren’t listened to as a child. “I think it’s because I was too easy on you.”
At press time, your mom was wondering out loud why you can’t be more like your cousin.
