An only child of an only child experiences a tumultuous relationship with her obsessive mother, culminating in high pressure for academic and personal achievement. The mother's overbearing perfectionism caused stress, as seen in her relentless pursuit of academic validation. A pivotal moment occurred when she forced a grade change and, later, signed her daughter up for a beauty pageant without consent. After moving away for college, the daughter pursued psychology to understand their relationship and cope with emotional challenges while developing humor as a coping mechanism.
Her need for perfection made it impossible to live up to her ideals. My becoming a standout was very important to my mom, who paid positive attention to me only when I achieved.
She would have been a killer lawyer. Mom is relentless and refuses to take "no" for an answer, wearing you down until you concede.
I was horrified when she informed me that she had signed me up for the Miss United Teenager pageant without my permission. I won first runner-up, Miss Congeniality, and the talent show.
It's a lifetime process learning how to cope with a parent whose rules and expectations are so suffocating that there's no room for maintaining a separate identity.
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