My Dad is almost the opposite of my Mom, he is too kind to a fault. He is extremely open and speaks openly to strangers about his problems, asking everyone what their names are yet forgetting the names of the people he sees semi-regularly. He believes the best in people and although I am a little more skeptical of people I still see the best in them until they give me a reason not to.

My parents have always been pretty good with their money and they taught me from when I was really young how to manage mine. This has shaped me alot and has made me a very frugal person. Some people believe the “good life” is to live in a mansion with acres of land surrounding them and lots of expensive cars. My life would be more about experiences and the companions I have with me. I am extremely indecisive when buying materialistic things because if I have no need for it, I see no reason to buy it. My parents were not this frugal but I would rather save my money like they do, using it for necessities and experiences like pottery or soccer rather than on a shopping spree where I would most likely regret my purchase.

Something my parents did not believe in was the “traditional” roles of a household. When my Mom moved here to be with my Dad, she became a full-time Nursing Student so my Dad became a stay-at-home-Dad and did a majority of the cooking, cleaning and taking care of me and my sister. My parents both grew up in a household where the men worked and the women took care of everything else, my German grandparents even having an arranged marriage. My Dad was always the only guy at the playground or the one to take us to school compared to all the other mothers who took their kids to school. Even after my Mom finished School she started working full-time and my Dad became a Bus Driver. My Mom became the breadwinner which was also unusual at that time. I'm glad I wasn't brought up the way my parents were and I wasn't boxed into what a girl should do or shouldn't because only boys were allowed to do it. My parents didn't push any stereotypes of gender on me and allowed me to be who I was, play the sports I wanted to and dress the way I wanted to.

My parents believe everyone is equal and shouldn't be treated differently or be discriminated against. This has helped me a lot, for example, when going to a new school that required uniforms, the girls were only allowed to wear skirts which I found extremely unfair. My Mom helped me to make it so girls could wear pants as well.