Every time she cribs about something, we argue, and it ends with me yelling at her. And every time I feel sorry but have never been able to express it.

So why does this happen only with our parents or our brothers or our sisters?

Is it because they are not fake? Is it because they are not trying to impress us? Or is it because we take them for granted?

Now take the example of your college or your hostel. How many times do you yell at your friends for a small mistake? You probably don’t. You try to be careful (knowingly or unknowingly, you think that you might need their help someday).

Then shouldn’t you avoid the same with our parents or our siblings? They are the ones who will help you even after a fight. But no, we have become so used to fake relationships that we don’t value the few real ones that we have.

So, coming back to the original question, why does this happen?

In your college or hostel, you are surrounded by people who have an agenda with you. They never crib about any of your behaviours. So, you start feeling good. You might find 1–2 real friends, but even they don’t crib much. Now you go back to your home, and you realise that no one is trying to be good to you. They are just being real. You don’t like this, and you get irritated. You start having arguments and, in few days, you start thinking about going back.

That’s where we are wrong. I am not telling you to go fight with your “friends”. I am also not telling you to have a fake relationship with your parents. All I can suggest is: choose people carefully, value the few real ones that you have and express your feelings.