Many people view divorced families as a hindrance to their happiness, but Chris Parish views his parents’ divorce as a motivation to be a better person.

In 2016, Chris walks into his house and sits down innocently on the couch, not expecting this type of awful news to unfold. His parents and sister deliver the news that, while they remain best friends, his parents’ marriage no longer works. They tell him it is best for him and his sister so, from then on, without much support, Chris carries on and keeps quiet about his situation.

As a kid, Chris begins to believe that parents should love each other and stay together, and it hurts him to see that his parents choose another path. Time carries on and the sadness dims like an old lightbulb while he comes to terms with the fact that his parents acted on the right decision. The rain cloud over his head disappears and he grows as a person while learning from his experience. He is grateful that his parents are on good terms and co-parent with no hard feelings, rather than waiting until the future to make such a tough decision and in turn leaving his parents full of hate for one another.

His parents’ divorce shapes Chris in both positive and negative ways; when surrounded by broken marriages from not only his family’s but friends’ parents as well, he finds himself doubting love and wondering whether or not it actually lasts. It, however, helps him adapt to new situations. In Chris’s life, it is the first big thing that induces change involving how he lives. 

Despite everything, he believes:

“I like how it turned out . . . I don’t think I would’ve wanted it to be any other way.”