Journal #3 - Good Argument?!?

Arguments are very common in my house, as almost every time I ask for something it winds up turning into me needing to prove to my parents why I believe what I believe and why I think it is right. The most recent argument has been about me going to visit one of my friends that lives in Sacramento, CA over summer break. I have been slowly trying to ease the idea of me traveling alone to them, and it seems as though I did a reasonable job at that. Before making my argument I had to think of all the things I know they would be worried about that would deter them from letting me go on the trip and I had to think of solutions to each of the problems so I would show that I have good evidence that I have thought this trip out and am not just simply making it up as I am talking to them.

I also had to think about the reasons I think I should be able to go, to tell them those also. In my argument I told them I feel I should be able to go because I have shown them I am respectful and responsible and that I make wise choices, I also have been getting good grades and first semester I got four A’s and only one B in my classes which shows I am doing well and trying hard in school. Also I said I would be paying for part of the trip myself and I would be staying with my friend while I was in California to cut back on extra unneeded expenses. All of these reasons are truthful and practical.

Having told my parents all these options I made a good argument, and they noticed I had thought about it before actually coming to them. Knowing this my parents discussed the trip and decided that I would most likely be able to go as long as I plan it in advance and not at the last minutes. Needless to say I became very excited and began looking up flights to book my trip. Had I not had a reasonable argument with proof of why I should be able to go though my parents most likely would have been more on the edge about letting me actually go. With an argument such as this I clearly had a bias going into the argument, which made me more apt to tell them all the reasons I should be able to go as opposed to why I shouldn’t be able to go.