Hi, Cheryl,
Like Dolly, I'd say I turned out okay but could be doing better if...
I have never been a drinker. I've never touched drugs, not so much as a puff of marijuana. I've never smoked a cigarette.
Relationships--well, I'm now divorced due to xh's infidelity, lies, mind games, and emotional abuse. I wonder, had I grown up with a different father, would I have seen through his charm before I married him? I think I might have, but I'll never know. I can easily see how he looked really, really good compared to what I grew up with. I can see how I was too quick to give him the benefit of the doubt and too quick to blame myself, and how that was a direct result of years of growing up with hearing that kind of stuff from my parents--'well, look at yourself, what did you do to make so and so do that?'
I feel very strongly that my dysfunctional upbringing all but groomed me for marrying a guy like him.
Like Kialua, I have a fear of authority. My insides still curl up every time my boss calls, even though I've been working for her for almost 8 years now and she not only never calls to complain, she calls to offer me better jobs and the students nobody else can handle because she believes I can. She raves about me to people all the time. Yet this is how I react when my kids tell me she's on the phone. It was a few years ago I learned that was typical of adult children.
Many parts of my life have been good. I credit that to having a talent/passion that carried me through, gave me a goal, gave me some sense of self worth and accomplishment. I also credit it to reading many, many self help books throughout my high school, college, and young adult years that showed me better ways of dealing with people, better ways of seeing things, etc. So, in short, I've been working on myself for decades, taking charge of my life.
I credit my faith and my decisions to live with integrity and honesty and take the high road, no matter what anyone around me is doing.