What is it that Parents Want us Kids to know? Words to Live by Before Graduation.

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On today’s What’s up Wednesday, I decided to take a question I answered in Quora again.  I had answered one a few months ago, and this question is something that every child and young adult should learn about (ages 0-17; 18-25). 

Why?  Because I feel that today’s young people have no idea what is expected of them.  I will post my answer from Quora and because this is a blog post, I will explain a little further what was meant by my answer.  (Note:  I also decided that now is the time to address this year’s graduation class of 2017.  Congratulations, everyone.)

1. To listen and make a decision based on what you were taught by your parents. This is a given, after all, these are the people who are raising or who have raised you.  This leads up to and including:
2. To have a voice and to stand up for your beliefs, but also understand the other person’s side as well. In other words, have compassion.  You can always try to have a person believe what you believe in, but they also reason why their values (that’s the term I am looking for) is the way they are. (By the way, always have a good reason why your belief is your belief - do not leave a person hanging.)
3. To be self-sufficient
4. To be honest. 
5. To learn something new and different.
6. To learn that the world does not owe you a thing in life.
7. To care for someone other than yourself.
8. To learn that everything is not about you and what you want.
9. To learn that you cannot get what you want all the time.
10. To forgive and forget ... But that does not mean you have to be around that person.   Negative people can bring a person down.  If someone keeps doing the same thing over and over again, maybe it is about time you part ways.  Still, love them, but apart from them.
11. Learn to be happy and to make your own happiness.  Do not depend on a person to give you the happiness you need in life.  People will always disappoint you if you look at it that way.  Once you find it, never let anyone take your joy. 
12. To dream and not be lead by someone’s expectations of you.  Also on that note, never let someone take your dreams.  If you have a dream of owning a potato chip factory, learn what it takes to own one, and work towards that goal.  Never give up on a dream.
13. To pray to God or whoever you see as a higher power other than yourself.  It is good to have a spiritual practice of some kind.  I read inspirational passages that contain scriptures from the bible.  If I do not understand it, I turn in my bible to get a better understanding of that passage.  I question every scripture I read on the internet with my actual page turning bible.  Also, praying helps bring clarity to that chaos.  I also turn to my pastor for a better understanding of that passage.  Find like-minded people to help you understand helps too.
14. That no matter what, we will always love you for being you. Do not change a thing.  Children, in general, need to know that they are loved no matter what mistakes they make in life.  They are learning how to be adults, while we, as adults are learning how to best guide them.   
15. To know how to read and do math well.  When you know how to read well, you can read contracts, understand a bill, even understand the new rules to Candy Crush.  Math skills allow you to know when your payment on a job is wrong (see negotiation skills), how much medicine to take, or how to follow a simple recipe (yeah, I know millennials don’t cook, but work with me for a minute-See #2).  
16. Do not rely on technology. At the moment you need it, it will fail on you.  I love my computer, phone, and tablet as much as the next person, but I found out that I do not know how to spell as well as I used to.  Why?  Because I rely on spell check on MS Word, Grammarly for my grammar correction, and a calculator to double check my math.  I know these things, but what happens when the lights go out, the gadgets need charging or Windows 10 decides it needs to update, which is every other week.  There is always pen and paper.
17. Learn how to do math the old-school way.
18. Learn the basics of your language and while you are at it, learn a new one. be proficient in both.  Both #17 and 18 goes back to #16 and technology.  In fact, numbers 15-19 go hand and hand.
19. Learn to negotiate, the right way. Weigh all your options before giving your final answer to something that will affect the rest of your life.
20. To treat everyone with respect and the same will be returned.
21. Patience
22. And finally, to smile and to speak when spoken to.

I am not a parent yet, but these are the things I want my nephews and niece to know in life.