Life Is A Style (Part 1: Living the Parenting Style)

Life is a style and how you choose to live your life is a reflection of your own style. Whatever you do with your life is the way you want it to be. If you live your life without a care in the world; be it in the right trajectory or in the wrong way, you must remember that you are the one who will face the consequences for every decision you make - you will be held accountable for the way you live your life.

There is no doubt that parenting styles influence our way of life. These different parental styles often prepare us to become responsible adults. Depending on your age, you have either lived or continue to live by the effect of your parent's style on your upbringing in one way or the other.

When we are growing up, our parents and guardians direct our course of life but when we get to a certain age, they allow us to make our own choices regarding school, the kind of company we keep, our choice of programme in school, and even whether to attend church or not. We may get punished, grounded or scolded whenever we make the wrong choice, that is, go against their authority, but does this remain so for the entirety of our lives? Certainly not! Our parents will grow old and weak, causing the tables to turn and we will become the ones to take care of them - when that happens, they will have no control over the way we live our lives, but that is when we must put into practice the training they gave us when we were growing up. That is when we become responsible for the way we live our lives.

“Train up a child the way he should grow and when he grows, he will not depart from it.” - Proverbs 22:6

The evidence of this scripture is seen when we finally become responsible for our lives.

This is my story: I am living with my big sister and her husband in the US and the way I live my life is not necessarily how my sister wants me to live my life. I am not implying that I don’t respect or obey what she tells me to do. Neither am I suggesting that I no longer have to listen to her advice because I feel I'm an adult now; not at all! What I am trying to establish is that I am no more living under the care and supervision of my parents who are currently in Ghana. So now I can live my life based on the decisions I make, trusting that my parents' guidance during my formative years would ensure that I make the right decisions. I am responsible for the decisions I make and I am aware of it. Nonetheless, and somewhat most importantly, is the reason why I seek advice from others when I need it, to help me to make the right choices and decisions in my life.

I guess the point I want to put across is that, your lifestyle is your way of life. That is why your life is your own style! You must feel free to live your life however you want but you should not forget that you will face the consequences of every decision you make.

Welcome to young adult life!

About the Writer

Esther Blankson is a young Christian Writer from Ghana but currently lives and studies in the USA. She has a passion for young people like herself and is an executive under the Purpose Lyceum sub ministry of the Teens Aloud Foundation USA branch. You can connect with Esther on Instagram:@ms.blankson