Growing up, I was never allowed to watch PG-13 movies unless pre-approved by my parents. When I was 15, this rule was still in place. I was out with my teenage friends and they wanted to see a PG-13-rated movie. I couldn’t leave, because a parent had dropped off my best friend and me, and this was before anyone had a cell phone, so you had to plan a pick-up time. I didn’t want to sit around for over two hours by myself. I could either disobey my parents and their trust to join in on the so-called fun, or I could stand my ground, do the right thing and see something appropriate.
I tried to persuade the group (there were ten of us) to see another movie to no avail, even after I explained I wasn’t allowed. They didn’t care, so I decided I didn’t want to be part of a group that cared so little about me. They all went to see the movie while I sat alone in another theater watching a G-rated movie. Not even my best friend came with me!
Of this group, I am the only one with a well-adjusted attitude and life. My then best friend is now an “arms-distance friend,” and others in the group were divorced, in AA or drug rehab, or shacked up and knocked up – all before they became 21 years old. I can’t help but feel pity for them, having never learned or accepted the lesson I learned when I was only 15 years old.
Michaela
My Teenage Friends Wanted Me to Disobey My Parents
The Dr. Laura Call of the Day Podcast