My Resolution to Stop Celebrating Parents' Day
I am a 23-year-old college graduate, earning about 2.1 million won (Korean currency) a month. Although I still live in their house, I receive no other financial support. Since graduating, I have constantly demanded that they treat me as an adult. My father at least pretends to listen, but my mother does not.
She is obsessed with my weight and constantly criticizes it. Even when we go out together, she refuses to leave the house if I wear certain clothes. She insists that I wear frumpy, shapeless outfits that hide my body because she thinks I am fat. I am 156cm tall and weigh 59kg; I am not obese to the point of risking my health. I don't think there is anything seriously wrong with my body.
As for my father, we have always had a strained relationship. He had an affair when I was young, and far from apologizing, he was incredibly brazen about it. We aren't fighting right now, but whenever I need emotional support or want to discuss health issues, he instinctively avoids the topic. He only talks about his own interests. No matter how much I try to talk about what matters to me, he just rambles on about some TV show he watched yesterday. It’s like talking to a five-year-old.
My mother feels hurt that I didn't acknowledge Parents' Day, but I will not celebrate it this year, nor will I next year.
Because this is the smallest first step I can take for myself.