Awkward · 4:34am Jan 6th, 2019
Good Evening,
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year.
Well, I had a rather awkward situation the other day. As you might know, my parents flew in to visit me for the holidays. We had a good time but now they're home. But there was one awkward situation during their visit. I ran into a brony I know - we've come across each other at several MLP cons over the past year, and hope to meet up again at some cons this year. He started talking to me about the upcoming cons - with my parents present. I must admit that my parents don't know about my involvement in the fandom. A few years ago, after watching a segment on bronies done by the news, my mother made the comment that she accepted I was a trekker (or trekkie as most people call Star Trek fans), but she was happy I'm not a brony. And I wasn't at the time. But now..... Well, getting back to my story, I explained that we were friends who had run into each other at fantasy cons - while not exactly accurate, it is true from a certain point of view. After all, MLP is a fantasy show. I feel kind of bad being misleading and evasive. Maybe I should have just been honest. On the downside, it would have taken many, many hours to explain. On the upside, it most likely would have involved watching many, many episodes. I don't know. What do you think?
Dreadnought
Parents never understand us.
Or spouses for that matter...
You got to know your audience. If they ask, don’t lie, but avoid brining it up. That’s been my philosophy
I don't know. It's easy for me to sit here and chide people to take the principled approach of always being honest, but only because I happen to be in a fortunate position where I know honesty about being a brony wouldn't cost me anything with regards to my family relationships. So that's something I would (or at least probably should) never do, lacking the perspective of real risk.
Only you know your parents from the perspective of being their child and what that means for you and them, so only you can decide how to balance the likely benefits, risks, and costs of telling them vs. keeping some things private. It's different in every situation.
I'd at least try not to feel bad, though. Adults are entitled to a private life in some respects, and other adults (even your parents) should be willing to respect that if they respect you.
I've been in that exact situation. It helps to remember that parental approval is not always needed (though I understand it's preferred), and that you are a fully functioning adult, capable of making informed decisions about your choice of entertainment and living with the potential fallout and consequences.
Edit for clarification: I also did my research, presented my case on why bronies and the show are a positive influence. Mother got that, but was concerned about folks who wouldn't get it, and would try to make a big deal or harass me over it. By the time this happened, I'd already dealt with haters and grown thicker skin, so we agreed to let me adult.