The Secret Life
By Emily, age 20, Newfoundland
Sweet Designs Featured Writer
As a teenager, I didn't think I'd be the kind of kid to keep many things from my parents. I was always very generally open with them, and it was a good thing. But as I got older, I became interested in things that my parents wouldn't approve of, and when I started university, I was free to do as I liked without a parent hanging over everything I did.
My parents have no idea about the lifestyles I adopted over the years. Although they suspected that I had eating abnormalities, they didn't realize that I lost all my weight by starving myself.
My parents also don't know that I'm afraid of commitment, and that's why I haven't had a boyfriend in 4 years, nor do they know that I'm interested in girls sometimes.
My parents might never know that I'm living with herpes, even though I think they wouldn't think it was my fault, and I know that they'd love me no matter what disease I were to have.
I keep secrets from my parents, not to protect me, but to protect them. I know how much it would hurt them to know the things that I do about myself. It would hurt them to know that I hurt, so I'm protecting them from my dirty secrets.
So when the average teenager has secrets, it's not always just for themselves. They may be trying to protect someone else too.
