Looking back, I clearly understand that seeing a 'chain of command' approach in my house was a positive thing for me. My father provided a strong point of view on life and was a leader. Boys, especially, need that.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I will follow in my father's footsteps. My father set the bar very high. He was a wonderful leader.
My father was a mean, controlling and manipulative person for most of his life. He was unpredictable and unstable. As a result, the atmosphere of our home was super-charged with fear because you never knew if what you did would make him mad or not.
The way my father raised me was really informative of how I think about my role as a female and how I view myself in a professional and personal capacity. So he encouraged me to set the bar very high for myself, to set great goals for myself.
As a child, I was rather active for my age. Sensing something special about me, my father told me that I had the vision to accomplish great things in life. He always encouraged me to do what I wanted to do - and this has stood me in good stead.
I watched my parents in their leadership callings in the Church and the community. We just grew up knowing that we should serve and do whatever we could do to make things grow.
Dad was an outstanding leader. He'd bring in top thinkers from a wide array of fields - how to fix the Detroit schools, for example. I watched him in these meetings. He listened and probed.
My mother and my father were very nurturing and wonderful examples of how to live your life.
I see my upbringing as a great success story. By disciplining me, my parents inculcated self-discipline. And by restricting my choices as a child, they gave me so many choices in my life as an adult. Because of what they did then, I get to do the work I love now.
My father felt that children should make their own way.
Even when I was rebelling against my father, the point was to follow my own intuition and instinct.