Myjellybean.com

Dear Jellybean,

I was wondering if you could help me. Like most teenagers, I rarely get on with my parents, haha. But a lot of the time, (even though I know I am partly to blame) we argue about the most trivial things, and I feel like they're doing it for no reason.

For example, one of which is that they say I don't take pride in m appearance. I feel that this is just not true. In fact, I spend quite a lot of my own money and time on shopping for clothes and other stuff, and I put on make-up each morning. I guess you could say my style is a little off.... I like to wear vintage clothes, shoes, a lot of skirts, but I wouldn't say that it's hugely individual, I just wear what I like because I like it. I can see how they may interpret this as sloppiness, because I don't dress that normally. However, I receive a lot of compliments. Heck, even for my school prom I won the best dressed award!!!!! I have told my friends about the things my parents have been saying, and they are very shocked, since they think (like a lot of people I suppose) that I do take pride in myself.

If I do relax, I relax around the house, and I generally just wear my pjs or a tracksuit, just on days when I'm doing my homework or whatever, and they just say "well... what we see is what we see Jen." I have tried to defend myself, but even when I try to do so in a calm manner, they refuse to hear me out, saying that I am argumentative.

Can you please help me out? I generally don't care what people think of me, but I do care deeply of what my parents think. If I do not have their support and my confidence plumments. I don't have a lot of friends, so I look to them for guidence and approval, but I feel like (I know this is so babyish) that if I don't have it from them, that they hate me and I become very sad and insecure.

Thanks a lot,

Jen