Dan in Real Life

22.  Dan tells the kids at the abandoned Shack O’ Shells that “life is full of disappointment.”  Do you think that’s true?  How do you deal with disappointment?

  

I believe that life can be full of happiness or of disappointments, but it depends on the way that you look at different events in your life.  It would be like asking a person if they see the cup half full or half empty.  If one were to ask me what I thought about this metaphor, I would say that I see the cup half full, and believe that life is full of happiness.  There are times, though, that you must search for it.  When I am faced with disappointment, I tend to let myself wallow in the disappointing matter awhile.  You cannot be happy all the time; I believe that to reach happiness, one must sometimes be truly sad.  If anything, contemplating why I am disappointed or depressed will help me to accept the matter, and try to find light in the issue.

4.  With his speeding and falling in love so fast, do you think Dan wants his kids to “do as I say, not as I do”?  Is that fair?

 

With Dan’s speeding and falling in love so fast, I think that Dan would want his kids to do as he says, instead of what he has been doing.  This is not fair, because parents should lead by example to their children.  At young ages, parents become role models to their children.  Children will begin to want to act like their parents, and similarities between parent and child might begin to show.  If a parent does not make a good example out of themselves, their child could start making the same mistakes that their parent is making.  I do not believe that Dan wants his daughters to make the same mistakes that he has made, but it is unfair of him to spit out advice or instruction to the girls that he is unable to follow himself.  Dan needs to be his daughters’ role model, so they will know the proper way to handle difficult situations.

11.  Where was your best hiding spot as kid playing Hide and Seek?

My best hiding spot as a kid playing Hide and Seek was in the ditch behind my house.  I was playing Hide and Seek with my cousins and brother at night, so a group of us ran outside to the ditch right behind my house.  At first, we were just lying on our stomachs to stay hidden from sight.  It was dark, and it would be difficult to see us if we stayed low enough.  One of my cousins, Jonathon, must have been found, because we heard him talking to my other cousin, Dylan, who was seeking.  From where we were hiding, we could hear them talking about how they could not find us.  It was an ironic situation, because they were practically staring at us.  Eventually, they went back inside the house, not having seen us.  This was a funny situation, and my cousins and I joked about it for a long time after the game of Hide and Seek was over with. 

2.  What are three tips you would give parents of teenagers?

 

One tip I would give to parents of teenagers would be to not hover excessively.  At this point in a teenager’s life, they cannot have their parent be with them every step of the way.  They need to start becoming more independent, and the only way to do this is on their own.  Another tip that I would give to parents of teenagers would be to pay attention to your teenager’s mood, and do not simply assume that they are feeling a specific way.  It can be good to ask if anything is wrong before jumping to conclusions.  If something is upsetting your teenager, ask them if they would like to talk.  If they have no desire to talk, do not push the issue.  You can always give them a comforting hug, instead.  My last tip for parents about their teenagers would be to have fun with them.  Make jokes, laugh, or open their door just to make a silly face.  Doing this will keep love and light in your relationship, and it could make you closer as parent and child.