Have your parents ever told you not to play ball in the house or that if you have nothing nice to say you shouldn’t say anything at all?
 

Did you listen to their advice?
 

Probably not, until the next time you played catch and you broke your mom’s favorite vase. Or the next time you called someone ugly and they started an even worse rumor about you.
 

Having to admit that your parents were right stinks, does it not?
 

We used to think so, until we started to realize that our parents actually knew what they were talking about…weird.
 

As the years roll on and the age ticker climbs, we both have to admit that our parents are smarter than we first thought.
 

That’s right Mom and Dad: you actually knew what you were talking about (I hope you’re proud we are finally admitting this).
 

When a parent sees her child going through an experience similar to one she has been through herself, advice is often the first thing she offers. It is up to the child to take it.
 

Why is it that we avoid taking the offered advice at all costs? Or even worse, do the complete opposite of the advice? Well, we thought it was because we knew better then our parents did. We thought that they “just did not understand!” That line was often thrown out there several times during heated arguments. Silly us.
 

Think about it: Our parents have been on the earth for way, way, way longer than we have.

They have been through many different types of situations in their lifetimes and have gained pretty good experience through those situations.
 

At first, it pained us to admit that they were right; who likes admitting that they were wrong in a situation. If you do, then we are hiring you to be our personal admitter of wrongdoing. It would be so much better to have someone do it for you, right?
 

Take, for example, the ever-famous “boy” advice. Pay attention, boys, because you are about to get a glimpse into the life of a teenage girl.
 

The question: “How come it seems like Jimmy [not his real name] doesn’t even notice me?”
 

Advice: “You need to act like you don’t notice him. It’s all about playing the game.”
 

Oh my goodness! How could we totally ignore the guy we’ve been crushing on for four months? No deal, Mom. Well, we tried it and, low and behold, things started to change.
Epiphany moment number one: The more we played the game, the more Jimmy became interested.
 

So, opposite gender, now you know why girls love to play games: We were taught to do so and most of the time it works.
 

Our dads have given us great advice, too, so don’t think we forgot about them. However, a lot of it has to do with work and money, which still confuses us. But hey, we listen and it all works out for the best.
 

ATTENTION! ATTENTION!
 

Here it is in writing! Spread it to the world! Print it out and post it on your fridge! Mail it to your mom and seal it with a kiss!
 

The parents know best, and you know what? We aren’t ashamed to admit it.

Samantha Cangelosi is a sophomore journalism major and Samantha Verrill is a junior journalism major. They can be reached for comment at [email protected] and [email protected], respectively.