My father has told me that his form of parenting stems from a dislike of the way his parents raised him. When he was a student, his father hardly ever spoke to him. He was basically on his own. He felt that this hindered his academic and social abilities, because he did not have his father to guide him through the difficulties of being a teenager. When he dropped out of school to father me, he decided he would be different, and would communicate with me and try to prevent me from making his mistakes. This valiant effort on his part has imprinted itself onto me, and there is no way to thank him for it, for it is far too significant. I only wis