a somewhat tribute (:

Brain vs. Brawn?
It seems to be common knowledge to all teenagers—or maybe my single group of friends—that parents are inferior. “Parental Units” do not understand their teenage children: arguments are constant; ways of accomplishing tasks belong on opposite sides of the universe; music, clothing and hair styles are far fetched according to one and normal to the other (this is generational though). Why is it this way? Will we ever really know? Possibly no one will be able to decipher a reasonable answer during this lifetime. However, I believe that certain characteristics are passed from parent to child that determine personality and character, rendering the two very similar. Therefore, like a magnet where similar ends repel each other, parent and child do the same. A prime example of this theory would be the relationship I maintain with my father.
Donald Lee Beard was born in Independence, Missouri. His family moved from Iowa to California then finally settled in southern Nevada where he finished high school. As a father, he is a wonderful influence. He is hard-working and is always trying to fix things around the house whether it includes killing the spider in the bathroom that caused way too much screaming, fixing the leaking dishwasher that flooded the kitchen, or building a tree house in the backyard. The interest he shows in his daughters’ lives has yet to be equaled—he has watched every soccer game, kissed every scrape and bruise, braided hair for school, listened to squeaky notes as a new instrument was learned, and danced with his girls when there was no music to be heard. Who could ask for a greater man to call “Dad”?
I, on the other hand, was born in Las Vegas and have lived near the Vegas valley since. I am still in my teenage years and I haven’t graduated high school yet. The wisdom and the strength my dad possesses has eluded me thus far, even though I have passed his level of knowledge in both math and science. I work hard to do good things for others, but I also try to do my own thing, using my own methods and style too much of the time.
Even with the differences in our backgrounds, I have realized that we are more alike than not. Both of our parents have been divorced and our fathers remarried. The weather and sights found in the desert appeal greatly to us. These are only factual likenesses, though. On a personal level, we are even more compatible. Given a chance to playfully tease a friend, both my dad and I will take full advantage. In these instances, our minds seem to be wired the same way. For example, if we were to tease John, we would both say something like ‘regurgitated cat food’ because the thought of it would bother him more than anything else. His bad temper and stubbornness were passed on to me as well as his love to tease; however, when combined with our ability to fight for what we believe is right—whether it truly is or not—means World War Three could erupt in the middle of the living room at any time. Sharing the ability to set goals and work towards accomplishing them helps us to cherish the reward at the end of the hard work. A dry sense of humor allows us to glory in each other when no one else understands where we are coming from.
My mom continually tells me that I become more and more like my father as the days go by. Little by little, I realize that she is right. We all learn from our parents, and according to Dad, we take those qualities that we like best in our parents and use them to our advantage—we make them our own. This can be both a good thing and a bad thing. As I expand my knowledge and my personality and ways of thinking change, I hope to become the type of person my dad already is. I hope to learn from him and grow in the right ways. Even though we get along like cats and dogs, we fit together like a hammer and nails. Maybe...just maybe...I can use this in my life today and better myself for the future.


thanks dad for everything...for putting up with me and teaching me even when I dont want to be taught