Abundant Life Preparatory Student Essays and Articles - Caleb (on manipulation)

Abundant LIfe Preparatory allows our troubled teens to cope through writing. It is a very effective way for our troubled boys and troubled girls to get their negative emotions out in a positive way. Here is an essay from one of Abundant Life Preparatory's students:

Why do I choose to manipulate?

I choose to manipulate in order to get my way. Especially when I know that my parents will not approve of whatever it is that I want to do. Also, I choose to manipulate so that I can avoid the drama and conflict of arguing with my parents. We do this a lot when I'm doing or have done something that they do not approve of.

Who have I manipulated and why?

I have manipulated my parents. I have manipulated my parents into allowing me to do the things that I want to do, even though I know that they would never approve had they known what I was really doing. I have also manipulated my teachers. I have manipulated my teachers into letting me skip class or leave class early. I did this because I did not want to apply myself. Instead of sitting through it like my classmates I would bail. In my mind it was me being pushed to my limit and I could only take so much. When really I was just being a flake.

How can I learn to quit manipulating?

I can learn to stop manipulating by building a strong relationship with my parents. By doing this, hopefully, I will feel comfortable enough with telling them what it is that I am really going to be doing when I go out.  Manipulation usually takes place when one person doesn't trust or like the other person enough to be honest with them. If i can build a strong foundation with my parents then I won't need to manipulate them anymore and will respect their decisions even when it is no.

As a young adult how do I manipulate my parents?

I manipulate my parents by telling them that I am going to go to one movie with one group of friends, when in fact I am going to see something different with a different group of people that my parents do not like. This is just one example of many.