Some of us are not in control of our own lives. What happened to you’re in charge of your own decisions? From the age of 18 you’re supposed to decide for your own future, right?

Well, that does not work out for everyone. Some parents love to control their kids’ lives, not thinking about how it could affect them. You stay inside your home, no friends because your parents got rid of them. They don’t see how lonely you become, so all you do is sleep. They don’t know how suicidal you become because no one cares about how you feel. Ever felt that way, or is it just me?

Not being allowed to go anywhere, and all you do is sit by your window and watch how everyone else enjoys their life hanging around with their friends, knowing deep down you can never experience that.

Not being able to have the freedom you really want, because they’re holding you back. For 18 years I have been controlled, I don’t know how it feels to be happy, I don’t know how it feels to be free or to have fun. I have never been to a school camp, I’ve been told “girls are not supposed to go on camps, it’s meant for boys”. Everything is based on gender in some households, If you’re a girl you are supposed to stay at home, cook and clean, and boys can do what they want. I’ve heard throughout growing up, ” you are a girl, you are supposed to make sure the kitchen is clean”.

We are three children, me being the only girl, why can’t they help me? Why must it always be a girls thing? They control you even when you find your first job. No job makes them happy, working at Shoprite, Usave, Pick n Pay. Those are not good enough for them, the only time they are happy is when you do what makes them happy. How you feel doesn’t matter.

Sometimes it’s because they are overprotective, but sometimes they can become too extreme. All I ever wanted was freedom, to be happy, to enjoy my teenage years. You are only young once in your life, you are only a teen once in your life, why can’t I be happy?

When you tell them how you feel, it’s called backchatting. You are not allowed to speak your mind, so instead, you end up suffering in silence.

Being lonely is not good, it destroys you from the inside. Especially when you know you have no one to talk to, so you just cry yourself to sleep.

Parents why?