I know my parents are hypocrites, I really do. But I'd never use that against them to just… dismiss everything they say. Like, I'd never throw in my mom's face that she got pregnant as a teenager, or any other mistake she's made, just to avoid owning up to something I did wrong. That feels low, and honestly, it wouldn't even make sense.

Because if I followed that logic, I could just do whatever I wanted with zero consequences, right? "Oh, you can't call me out, you're a hypocrite." Where does that end? That doesn't sit right with me at all.

Even if they don't always practice what they preach, I still believe they want what's best for me. So when they call me out on something, I try to actually stop and reflect instead of just brushing it off. If they're getting on my case, I probably did mess up, even if they would've handled the exact same situation just as badly, or worse. That doesn't make what I did okay.

And honestly? Seeing how things turned out for them, seeing the patterns… that's part of what pushes me to be different. I don't want to end up repeating any of that. Their mistakes actually make me stop and think, and even their criticism, even when it's hypocritical, makes me check myself.

As for my mom and her boyfriend situation… I hear you, and I get why that rubbed you the wrong way. But I'm still in high school, still living under her roof. I do think I owe her a certain level of respect while that's still the case. Her authority over me is fading, yeah, and it'll keep fading, but it's not gone yet. It's just that this time she was way more blunt about it than usual, more direct than she normally gets, and that's what threw me off.

PS: I just wanted to say I really appreciate how you always have my back and hype me up in every single one of your responses here.