“Put your coat on.”  “Look both ways before crossing the street.”  “Don’t chew with your mouth open.”  There a million things that our mothers tell us throughout our lives in an effort to protect and make us wise beyond our years. We kids, especially as teenagers, tend to roll our eyes and nod our heads while planning to not wear coats, run into four lanes of traffic, and chew with our mouths open even though we know it’s gross.

I can’t explain the science behind why teens so often want to disobey their mothers, but I can tell you that for me it started long before I was a teenager. I remember being about five years old sitting in my family room pulling barrettes out of my hair. My mother turned around from her seat to find me sticking my hair clips into the electrical outlet. Horrified, my mom scolded me and said that if I did it again I would be seriously punished. The choices were laid out in front of me. My mom was waiting for some sort of verbal sign that I understood her, but instead I looked her straight in the eyes and jammed those barrettes as hard as I could into that outlet. Ignoring the fact that I clearly had a serious death wish and deserved to be electrocuted, I purposely defied my mom’s word. 

I know what you’re thinking 'with that kind of disregard for boundaries at such a young age, it’s amazing she’s not in prison right now.' I know, I often think that myself. I’d like to say that today as a 21-year-old, I listen and appreciate everything my mom tries to tell me. That’s not the case, but there are a few things that she has a told me over the years that I’ve realized are true, such as:

1. Nothing good happens after 2 am. You’ve probably heard this one before and thought ‘that’s ridiculous.’ I used to think the same. I imagined parties running late into the night, dancing with friends, and laughing at hilarious jokes. The truth is, however, very few people are hilarious after 2 am. In fact once you hit your twenties, you realize most people are very stupid after 2 am. People get tired and restless, but instead of going to bed they decide to do ridiculous things. So when your mom says “remember, nothing good happens after 2 am” what she’s really saying is that generally there’s nothing that you can do after 2 am that you’ll be glad you did by dinnertime the next day. In fact, I believe if you listen closely to any college campus at about 5 pm on a Sunday you can hear the resounding groans of people realizing they did something idiotic the night before. They realize the guy has a girlfriend, the piercing doesn’t look good, or they’re vowing never to touch tequila again. So when the clock hits 2 am, just go to sleep. You’ll thank yourself the next day as you watch your roommate bang their head against their desk over and over again.
2. Make sure to smile when you walk in the room. Ever since I was little my mom has been reminding me to smile. It really annoyed me because most of the time I didn’t want to smile. Not because I was necessarily sad or angry, but because I was thirteen and wanted to appear pensive and smart. Instead, I came across as rude, disinterested, and probably a bit stuck up. I remember telling my mom that if I smiled all the time, I felt cheesy and stupid. The irony is that at the time my favorite outfit featured a red sweatshirt with a graphic of a smiling monkey that read “Monkey Business, 1987”…  There’s nothing I can say or do now to excuse that fashion faux pas, but a smile on my face would have at least softened the blow. Smiling at people makes you seem approachable, laid back, and kind. All qualities that will encourage people not to judge even if you’re wearing a bejeweled, velour pink track suit.
3. You will always be my baby. Phrases like these are nothing if not annoying especially when you’re in high school and feeling like you constantly have to fight for your independence. When I was a teenager my mother’s favorite thing to do when talking to friends with actual babies was to point to me and say, “this is my baby.” That of course could not have been more disturbing or weird to the baby because they saw a 16-year-old in front of them and not in fact, a baby. Needless to say those kids rarely asked for my mom to babysit. As embarrassing as it is now, fight the urge to roll your eyes or make a sarcastic comment as I often did because a few years from now when you go to college or move out of the house, it won’t feel quite so annoying. You’ll appreciate the fact that when you come home your mom wants to make you a special dinner, ask you millions of questions, and brag about you to friends or in my mom’s case, other babies.                                                     

I know you’re all dying to know my mother now, but sadly she is not on Facebook. Enough about her, let’s hear about your parents. What are some of the things they tell you to do or not to do all the time? Do you listen? Tell us about it in the comments!

Amelia is a senior at American University studying Communication & Spanish and an intern at The National Campaign. She enjoys speaking in a fake British accent, dressing up for no particular reason, and watching Parks and Recreation. Have a question for Amelia? Email us!