Does Adulthood Make You See Your Parents Differently? | The Moment You Finally Understand What They Were Carrying

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Hey friends, welcome back to another episode of Becoming with Kethney.
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Now, today I'd like to talk about how as a child I never quite understood the adult figures in my life.
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And I feel like now, as I'm getting older, I feel like I could understand parents and my parents more.
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Have you ever had a moment where you finally understood something that your parents used to tell you?
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Yeah.
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Well, I was reflecting this week and that happened to me.
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I was like, wow, I finally get it.
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You see, when you're younger, your parents just feel like parents.
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You don't think about their stress, their exhaustion, it feels invisible to you.
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You mostly just see what directly affects you.
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You see, because as kids, we see the adults in our lives and experience them through what they do for us, but not exactly through what they carry themselves.
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And there were so many things that they used to say to me that I just didn't understand at the time.
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Enjoy your childhood.
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Adulthood is different.
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When you're younger, adulthood feels like freedom.
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You don't realize how much responsibility comes with it because you don't understand responsibility yet.
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And now that I'm older, I finally get it.
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I understand how exhausting responsibilities can be after an already long day working.
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When you come home or you log off online from the day, you still need to cook and maintain your home.
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And you realize that adults they rarely fully clock out.
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And I think the biggest shift is realizing that my parents and your parents, they were people.
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They were people before they were ever your parents.
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And they were continued to be people and a person while they were parenting you.
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Your parents, they had emotions, they had fears, responsibilities, dreams.
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They were figuring life out too.
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And you know what?
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It's okay that they didn't magically have everything together.
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As they were raising us, they were carrying entire lives we couldn't see.
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And I think growing up changes the way you appreciate people and you appreciate your parents.
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You now appreciate the effort they put into your life more because you understand that sacrifice is differently.
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Now that you're an adult, you can relate.
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Whether or not you even have children yet, you are beginning to understand what it means to be an adult.
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And so you appreciate the fact that they were balancing that, living their own lives, trying to find their identity, going after their dreams while raising you.
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And the sacrifice of their time.
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And I say it's a sacrifice because it's a lot. You get tired.
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There's times where I just want to check out after a long day.
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Literally don't do anything.
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I'm not feeling hungry.
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I'm just gonna snack and chill, watch TV, or just go to bed.
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And there's so many times that I think about, oh my gosh, imagine if I couldn't do that because I had a child.
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Now I'm exhausted.
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I just want to check out, but shoot, I can't because I have a responsibility outside of myself.
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And I love that responsibility.
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But now I have to be mentally strong to overcome what I'm feeling in order to meet their need.
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And they're gonna be hungry.
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So I better figure something else out for dinner.
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That's just an example.
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And I feel like as we grow older, we see these positive adult figures in a fuller way.
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Because sometimes this moment of appreciation, it only comes over time when you're able to relate and you're able to understand what it took for them to be there in your life in that way.
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And maybe this is one of the quietest parts of becoming.
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You see, growth changes you, it changes your perspective and you start understanding things you once overlooked.
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And in your own way, you start becoming the adult that you once only observed.
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So I'm curious, what's something your parents or adult figure in your life when you were a child used to say to you that you're now starting to understand?
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And have you had a moment where you finally understand the adults that were in your life when you were a child?
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Do you understand them differently now?
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If you've been feeling this lately, I feel like this realization just comes with growth.
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It's just part of growing older and it's natural that your perspective changes with your experience.
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Sometimes becoming isn't just learning more about yourself.
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It's finally understanding the people that came before you.
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If you like this episode, remember to subscribe, follow, and share with someone you think that this conversation and this reflection will be helpful to.
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Thank you, and until next time.
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Bye.