We're all burdened with impositions often enforced on us rather than voluntarily accepted. Express asked youngsters about pressures, restrictions and societal norms that parents force them to abide by and here is what they said:
I don’t think my parents restrict me from doing what I want to do that much. But, at times they bring up the issue of not going out with friends very often, especially girls. It is natural considering the generation gap
-Monaesh
This is the time when you face maximum restrictions in your life. I personally haven’t faced these many rules even as a kid. Parents do it out of fear. They simply do not want me to be social. Therefore it forces us to lie
-Arun Kumar
Some of my friends drink and smoke. I do not judge them based on such occasional habits, but my parents do. They look down at them and ask me to be away from them. I do not accept their stand on this; they need to change
-Shanmugam
Though my parents are liberal, I have seen friends who suffer a lot because of restrictions. When we go for field work, they simply can’t do it peacefully. They will have to give a minute-to-minute update to parents for no good reason
-Sowmya
There is literally no freedom. The only place I am allowed to go is college. When I am ten minutes late, I get continuous calls from parents. We don’t spend enough quality time as a family as well. I am not able to find people to whom I can express my concerns to
-Saranya
After coming to know about different incidents involving college students in newspapers, my parents became critical about my presence in social media. They kept intruding into my space by asking me to deactivate my social accounts
-Ilakiya
I am from a village. The two typical restrictions you face - career and choosing your life partner. It was a struggle for me to make them understand that post graduation was important. The other thing is loving somebody from a different caste or religion
-Saravana Kumar
My parents respect my views and feelings. At any given point, I can convince them to be open enough to people around. But at times they try to stop me from doing certain things. I am mature enough to do what I feel is right rather than feeling restricted
-SoundarRajan
The amount of restrictions that my parents have put on me has changed my personality itself. I am not even bold enough to take a bus on my own. When we sit down for family dinner, I am not even allowed to give sisterly advice to my brothers and sisters
-Shobana
From the way we dress up to deciding our career, most decisions are made by our parents. Women in particular are not allowed to take up careers other than teaching or banking. They curtail your passion for arts, social work or anything else
-Soundarya
(This story was first published in the New Indian Express)