Thursday, May 14, 2009

Ignored By Dad

Dear Harlan,

My dad has a girlfriend who lives 200 miles away. He talks to her on the phone for hours, and I never get to talk to him. I feel like a baby for being jealous of them, but I feel so alone because I have no one to talk to. Another thing is that I have my exams in a few weeks, and everyone in my family thinks I'm really smart and I'll get good grades, but I know I'm going to fail physics and math, and they'll be so disappointed. I'm sorry about the moaning; I just needed to tell someone about my somewhat mundane worries.

Ignored

Dear Ignored,

Teenagers have a way of looking painfully uninterested in talking to parents. Not all dads know that this painful look is just how teens look, even if they are interested. I know, your dad is your dad and he should be the one approaching you, but your dad probably is clueless that you want to talk to him. Tell him. Suggest a dad-daughter dinner night each week. Ask him for his time. As for your bad grades, tell the people giving you the bad grades that you need help. That's really smart. If you don't speak up, no one will know that you need help. While you might think no one wants to hear you moan and groan about your mundane worries, you couldn't be any more wrong. Speak up, and you'll be surprised how eager people are to listen.

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