Found this in an old journal from grade 8. So, so typically my Dad:
“My dad read the article about how I feel all plain and stuff and he told me it runs in the family. He said “I was always considered one of the ‘smart’ ones. I guess you got the know-it-all gene from me, Shauna.”
Later, he showed me old high-school report cards. I couldn’t believe my dad, respectfully one of “those smart kids,” had these low averages, just like me! He told me that once he got to University, he learned to “chill a little.” He said first impressions WERE hard to overcome, but however I act is how people will slowly come to know me. He said when he started “chilling out” a bit, people were like “Oh, cool” and just came to see him in a different view. A better view.
I hope the getting over it part is in my in my blood too. My dad is a pretty cool guy–growing up to be a bit like him wouldn’t be that bad. He always makes me laugh. He’s like a big brother sometimes cuz he teases me and pokes fun at me. But he’s still my dad, which is what he does best. He’s just so hystarical and I love him so much.”
Oh, 13-year-old Shauna. Growing up to be a bit like him is one of the best things you’ve ever done.
(Also, dear 13-year-old Shauna, he’s not actually that funny. He just plays air guitar and quotes movies in weird voices and re-hashes Seinfeld jokes. Don’t encourage him like this.)
Shaunanagins 
Those memories sound comforting. I look like my father, and my habit of block printing I got from him. My father didn’t have a college degree and neither do I, but Daddy did have 20 years in the Navy and 10 in the reserves. The older I get and the more experience I accumulate with raising my boys, the more I start to understand some of the things my father said and did.