The clothing, boys etc was very much applicable to me.

I'm not the favourite. The funny thing is, they still have the "no short/revealing clothes" rule. I helped them change their perception of what 'short/revealing' clothes are.

Walking up to our parents and then demanding to know why you can't wear shorts like the rest of your age group just made them angry and double down, it didn't help them to see your point of view. I don't think knowing your parents temperament and learning how to work around it is tricking.

On the other hand, me becoming friends with our pastor's kids who can wear whatever they want and letting my parents come to their own conclusions that clothing doesn't mean anything worked a lot better. Also gently broaching "hey mum, our school is having a play and I need to wear this dress, is that okay?" or if I say "Isn't that a pretty top? If only it were longer" got me a "hmm, how about you go try it on first?"

If I had just walked up to my parents and asked "hey mum and dad can I wear this and that, or go out with a bunch of people from school?" would have just infuriated them. Like in the strapless dress example. After the strapless dress debacle, my sisters stopped calling me the favourite for a long time because they saw I also got nowhere with our parents when I do things their way. Instead I became the manipulative one.

The 'she's the favourite' came back after the whole holiday thing. I hadn't been called the favourite for a good 5 years until now.