My dad visited

I saw my dad today after several years. He came to visit me with my cousins. You'd think that something like that would occupy my thoughts pretty completely. But, no, I was still thinking about you. I know you don't like what my dad did to my mom, but I wish you could have met him. You did say you wanted to meet him anyway, too. Then again, we were mostly speaking Spanish to each other, and I know how embarrassed you get when speaking Spanish. My family teased me a bit for my lack of slang knowledge, by the way. It would have been nice to have you there at that time, so I could be in the same boat as someone there. I did find out that my cousin doesn't like the word duro, which most Americans who've taken a Spanish class know means hard. She uses other words for hard that I don't remember right now. I guess it's like using the word mad instead of angry. Have you ever noticed that we do that? It's just a diction preference.

My dad asked about you. Well, I talk about you whenever he calls me, so of course he'd bring you up. He did know from the last time we phoned that I'd broken up with you. I explained to him how you aren't talking to me, and the legal threat. He told me to wait until you'd talk to me again... somehow, hearing it from him is so much more encouraging than hearing it from anyone else who's told me that. Some people are just much better at delivering advice than others, I guess. For example, he didn't tell me to get over you; he said that I'm young and that there is a person who I will love much more than anyone else. It's that subtlety and ambiguity that I liked, perhaps. I also find it interesting that he said that when I've never mentioned my desire for that to him. I hadn't thought about it lately, but I'm quite sure that I inherited being a dreamer from him.

Remember how you said that you'd like to visit Central America with me? I told you that you couldn't do it if you were so hesitant to speak Spanish, but you insisted. You just didn't want me to be countries away from me. I guess it won't be so hard to leave you in the US now. My dad says that he wouldn't want me to be there for more than a week, because it's dangerous. He says that my grandmother recovered from that illness I told you about. I told him that I'm planning to take some college courses online so that I can continue my studies while I visit.

Speaking of travel, you'll likely be in New York in a number of months. And that will be for much more than a week. Where's that girl who couldn't bear seeing me less than three days every week? Heheh. I guess that's still you, but you've gotten stronger. I'm so happy that you can stand on your own now. You may still need to get your legs more perfectly underneath you, but I'm glad that you're getting there. Keep going. I'll get up and be strong and honest like you, too.

Advice: good vs bad

Good Advice:

When you are depressed or upset, talk. Talk to your family. Talk to your friends. Talk to a psychologist. Talk on the internet. Talk on the phone. Talk on a help hotline. Don't be afraid to talk to yourself, but try to mostly say positive things out loud. Never burden only one person with your emotions and issues. Talking to many people allows you to not constantly or completely place an overwhelming burden on any one person.

When someone who is depressed or upset comes to you for support, talk. Don't leave that person alone. Suggest that the person should talk to others in addition to you. Help to connect that person with other people who will care. If this person is currently attempting to harm or kill anyone or anything, call your emergency telephone number (for example, 911 in the US and Canada) immediately. Never abandon this person.

Bad Advice:

When you are depressed or upset, remember that someone is always in a worse situation than you. Either get over your problem or at least cover it up until you forget about it. If you talk to someone else, they probably wouldn't understand or be able to help. Just keep your chin up; smiling all the time will make the people around you comfortable and help you get over being sad.

When someone who is depressed or upset comes to you for support, call your emergency telephone number immediately. It isn't your responsibility to take care of a sick person; just hand it off to the authorities. Your constant comfort is more important than what a sick person thinks is needed of you, so don't talk to that person and you won't be as stressed out. Avoid the other person in order to avoid being hurt by the other person. You can let family, friends, and even strangers keep the other person away from you, too. Only take care of yourself; the other person will get sorted out by someone who knows what they're doing.