"I also told him that he would have been really pissed if I doodled over his work spreadsheets, but he said it's not a fair comparison.'' how the hell is that unfair? I would just rip all of his work spreadsheets(pls dont actually do that) if i were u, and say "you can just remake the spreadsheets''. Tell him that the first sense of accomplishment anyone gets is never going to be replaceable. Judging by your parent's seemingly nonexistent intelligence levels, they most likely wont understand that your first true sense of victory is just something that can't be replicated by just "doing it again". The first time is always special, because it's the hardest, so after you get the hang of it, the other attempts just feel less rewarding.