Me and my father always had our separate ways in school. Every time I would show him my report card; he'd either scold me or punish me. It was around the 2nd quarter of junior year when my father received my report card; and for once he didn't yell. He simply said "son I need to have a word with you about this". You could imagine what was running in my head, "oh no here it comes here it comes". Instead, rather than raising his voice, he said "son, I know you could do better. College isn't a joke. You have to learn to put the time and effort into studying. I only want you to do better than I did". My father was a cop for twenty years, and he never wanted us to be like him. In my mind, it was the only thing that I needed to hear. "You could do better". I did do better. I finally felt confident. It helped me realize that there is a future waiting for me, and that my parents finally recognize me as an adult; and not a child. With those words as my motto, I triumphed through my final years in high school.