My dad and me Generation Next writers share why they love their relationships with their fathers My dad has a playful, fearless and crazy spirit By Eliza Harrison Generation Next
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f my dad lived by simple truisms, the watchwords of his life would include things like: Be grateful, don’t sweat the small stuff and pursue your dreams. My dad is a man who believes in relationships, doing good work for the Earth and paying attention to things that matter. From my earliest memory, my dad has been my friend and advocate. He encourages me to be a leader and an explorer, and teaches me to pursue my life with confidence and courage. He is a source of hope and strength when my school and life become overwhelming. My dad has a playful, fearless and crazy spirit. He believes that “life in motion is heaven.” Over the past 16 years, adventuring has defined our relationship. When I was 3 years old, my dad introduced me to the world of mountains and rivers. He has been my teacher and guide as a skier, whitewater canoeist and tennis player. My dad is a beloved companion in exploring the outdoors. One of my favorite childhood memories involves a spring ski trip my dad and I took to Wolf Creek, Colo., when I was 8 years old. While riding the ski lift on that beautiful March afternoon,
A childhood photo of Eliza Harrison and her dad, Ted Harrison, atop Alberta Peak in Colorado. COURTESY PHOTOS
FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2013 THE NEW MEXICAN SECTION D
I saw a teenage girl doing something that made my heart stop. She was telemark skiing, a type of downhill skiing in which the heel is detached from the binding, allowing it to come up as the skier moves down the mountain. In Santa Fe and Taos, telemark skiing girls were nonexistent. But the sight of that tele-girl made my alpine equipment seem cumbersome and limited. Surprised (and slightly reluctant), my dad agreed to teach me how to tele if I would commit to refining my alpine skiing. By the end of the weekend, we were on the Internet searching for kid-sized tele gear and we’ve been carving crazy turns from Colorado to British Columbia ever since. Unlike media or cultural stereotypes of dysfunctional, inept or disconnected fathers, my dad is a partner to my mom and me. Even during days of worry and distraction, he is present and connected. In Moby Dick, Herman Melville wrote: “I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I’ll go to it laughing.” For my dad, Ted Harrison, life is an opportunity for learning and exploring. While I know that he suffers from insecurities and disappointments, he doesn’t dwell in sadness or loss. Instead, he looks to his life with anticipation — eager for the next adventure. Our lives are a journey that I am grateful we share. Eliza Harrison will be a junior at Santa Fe Preparatory School. Contact her at echarrison@gmail.com.
Simplicity still describes our interactions
As I’ve grown older, I have become more independent and busy with friends. These days, walking in the park is a rare activity for us, but when it happens, it’s a beautiful By Ariel Parrella-Aureli thing. Generation Next Now that I have graduated from can always count on my dad. He’s high school, my path is starting to the one I go to if I have a problem, curve and shift. I am starting a new whether it is financial, mental or phase of my life, but I know things emotional. My dad seems to have will never change between my dad everything figured out and always and me. After being so close to him knows the answer. for the last 18 years, it’s time to step We’ve been close since I was out of my niche and into the “real young. We easily have fun together, world.” But I can’t help but wonder and simplicity still describes our how it’s going to be when I’m not interactions. We used to walk around here anymore. the marina in Berkeley, Calif., wearWhile our relationship continues ing matching leather jackets. Someto grow, sometimes I still feel like a times we brought our dogs, Shayah little girl in my dad’s eyes. It’s comand Yugah, listened to the trees forting — I think many of us are rustling in the wind and watched the always daddy’s girls, no matter how boats and ships sail away. old we get. Wherever I go from here, My dad and I are both Libras, I will always carry my dad inside my which means we like balance. Libras heart. traditionally get along well with other Libras, and my dad and I often Ariel Parrella-Aureli is a graduate of The New Mexico School for the Arts. have similar opinions — no doubt this is also because he raised me. Contact her at ariel.felice@gmail.com.
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Bernardo Parrella and daughter Ariel Parrella-Aureli.
His ability to be happy has made me a happier person By Charine Gonzales
Generation Next
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Cavan Gonzales holds his daughter, Charine Gonzales, as a newborn.
Alyssa Sandoval, St. Michael’s High School “Camping and fishing.”
Bradlee Giles, Santa Fe High School “Watch sports.”
San Ildefonso Pueblo. Though the distance has been a challenge, our relationship has stayed strong. If it was not for both my parents working together to maintain those relationships, I know my dad and I would not have so many great memories. Now that I’ve graduated from high school, we’re shocked at how fast the time flew by. What makes upcoming changes easier is the reminder of experiences we’ll have together as I become an adult. As I get ready to move on to college, my dad will help me in any way that he can, even if that’s just being a person to talk to. Today, my dad is a father to me and my brother, Tyler, and also to our little sister, Andreita. She keeps my dad busy. It’s really neat to see my dad go through raising a kid again after missing a lot of that time with my brother and me. My dad cares about his family more than anything and will continue to do a great job helping my stepmother, April, raise Andreita. I will not be with my dad for Father’s Day this year, but I am always thinking about him. I know he tries his hardest to be the best father he can be.
hen I think of my dad, Cavan Gonzales, I think of his hilarious outlook on life, which never fails to inspire me. He is always making jokes and thinking of ways to make hard situations easier with the right attitude. His ability to be happy has made me a happier person. My dad is a pottery artist, one of the best. He began teaching me pottery when I was about 3 years old. Through his teachings, I learned the importance of patience, commitment and tradition. One of my first memories of my dad is when he drew an Indian-style bird in chalk on our porch. I remember being impressed at his skill — after all, I probably just wanted him to draw stick figures. Since then, he’s taught me a great deal, even though we have not had as much time together as some other dads and daughters. Charine Gonzales will be a freshman at Fort For most of my life, my dad has lived Lewis College in Durango, Colo. Contact her at charinepgonzales@gmail.com. about 40 minutes away from Santa Fe at
What’s your favorite thing to do with your dad?
Taylor Martinez, Santa Fe High School “Shopping.”
Carlos Acosta, St. Michael’s High School “Watch sports.”
SPEAK OUT Jared Jones, Aspen Community Magnet School “Go hunting.”
Aram Herrera, Santa Fe High School “Go fishing.”
Paul Vigil, The MASTERS Program “Travel.”
COMPILED BY NANA PARK/GENERATION NEXT
Section editor: Adele Oliveira, 986-3091, aoliveira@sfnewmexican.com
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for and by teens
Jaden Smith, left, and his father, Will Smith, star in The Pursuit of Happyness. The 2006 film tells the story of a father struggling to provide for his son. COLUMBIA PICTURES
Father’s Day movies teens can enjoy By Aaron Stevens Generation Next
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atherhood is a prevalent theme in movies, and there is no shortage of great films about dads. The Generation Next staff picked five movies from a variety of genres and eras, all with paternal figures taking a leading role. Father of the Bride (1950) This classic flick (remade in 1991 with Steve Martin and Diane Keaton) puts Spencer Tracy in the role of Stanley Banks, a loving father facing his daughter Kay’s (a teenage Elizabeth Taylor) impending wedding. Stanley’s attempts to stomach the soaring costs of the wedding and confront his emotional issues are funny and touching. Broken chandeliers, sleepless nights and a fishing trip to Nova Scotia build to what is ultimately a happy ending. The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) In the wake of the recently-released (and totally horrendous) After Earth, it’s easy to forget that Will and Jaden Smith have made a great father-son movie. Based on a true story, The Pursuit of Happyness centers on Chris Gardner (Will Smith), a father struggling to provide for his wife, Linda (Thandie Newton), and son, Christopher (Jaden Smith). When Gardner decides to join a six-month, unpaid internship program at a brokerage in San Francisco, Linda leaves him and Christopher. The rest of the movie chronicles Gardner’s desperate struggle to stay afloat in the internship program and to take care of Christopher with almost no income. At one junction, father and son sleep in a subway station, but thereafter, the duo’s situation improves. National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) Arguably the best Father’s Day comedy ever, National Lampoon’s Vacation follows the odyssey of the Griswold family as they try to reach the Disneyland-like Walley World. A constantly escalating series of misfortunes — often brought on by father, Clark (Chevy Chase) — turn a fun, family vacation into a hilarious nightmare. Redneck cousins, a great-aunt from hell, a mysterious blonde in a Corvette and never-ending car problems are some of the film’s highlights. Road to Perdition (2002) The most somber of our selections, this star-studded film is also the most dadcentric. Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks) is a surrogate son to Depression-era Irish organized crime kingpin John Rooney (Paul Newman), causing a feud with Rooney’s actual son, Connor (Daniel Craig). A series of brutal events leaves Sullivan and his son Michael Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin) on the lam, searching for revenge and avoiding a supremely creepy hit man (Jude Law). Bank robberies and gory murders are the order of the day, leaving only one of the characters standing at the movie’s end. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) The most fitting father-son combination in film history is Harrison Ford and Sean Connery in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The original (and best) James Bond is Professor Henry Jones, Indy’s father. The casting demonstrates an acute sense of poetic justice by filmmakers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, and the combination of the two legendary action heroes doesn’t disappoint. Indiana (Harrison Ford) and Henry tag-team as they race a horde of Nazis to find the Holy Grail, the cup Jesus drank from at the Last Supper. Exciting, romantic, full of dry humor and at times poignant, The Last Crusade covers all the bases. Aaron Stevens will be a senior at Santa Fe Preparatory School. Contact him at aaronbstevens1@gmail.com.
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