Pressure

You might have seen or heard of kids being pushed to fulfill the dreams of their parents. Some parents pressure their kids to get straight A’s; other parents pressure their kids to play an instrument. My friend’s dad wanted him to play baseball. He was forced to play until he was thirteen years old. He grew up loving the game, but as he got older his love for the game began to fade. His passion began to die because his father pushed the game on him too hard. It was at this point where his father told him he couldn’t quit, and that he would be playing next season as well. My friend quit the baseball team once he hit the age of thirteen and took up skateboarding. In the end my friend’s dad didn’t get what he wanted. Another thing also pushed onto kids is religion. Religion should not be forced; it is something you have to be committed to with all your heart.

My name is Dwight; I’m a seventeen year old residing in Auburn, Washington. I am currently living with only my mother and younger brother, my father passed away about a year ago due to lung cancer. My Dad grew up in a strong catholic family where the whole family went to church every Sunday. My mother on the other hand grew up in a not so strong Christian family, going to church a few times a month. I myself was baptized Catholic as a baby and growing up I belonged to three different churches. They all seemed the same to me, singing, reading, and praying. Recently I was introduced to a new church, where the preachers were young and the walls were mounted with TVs. I’ve never seen a church like this before, so I gave it a chance. For a while it was going good, but as the singing started the preacher began flailing his arms in the air as if Jesus was taking over his body. I asked myself if everybody was supposed to feel this way. I felt distant from all the other church goers. I have never once felt as if Jesus was a part of me. But if I confessed this I felt as if I was letting my family, friends, and the church down. This lack of connection frightened me, thus making me suck it up and go to Sunday school simply to please others. My parents and I share the same last name and the same blood, but I shouldn’t have to follow the same beliefs as them.

I believe this should be the same for every other kid out there. I would consider myself a square peg that doesn’t fit in a round hole. Because of this I am not going to push my kids to fit in any religion. I just want my kids to follow the general rules of being a good person. Once they have mastered this, they can commit to any religion they want or maybe not a religion at all. But I do think if you believe in a religion, you should inform your kids of it. But be carful not to force it on them. I don’t want to make them feel pressured to follow in my footsteps. If they want to, that’s great. Either way I’ll be happy if my kids grow up to be kind, honest, hardworking, motivated, and everything else that consists of having good character.

I believe religion is a choice, and can be decided at any point of time in a person’s life. This is a very important decision in someone’s life. This should take quite a lot of thinking and time to make a final decision. There is bound to be some change as a human grows and their thoughts change.