17-year-old sets her mother and her mother's husband straight when they get upset at her for telling others that he isn't her dad: 'My mom's husband isn't my dad'

The truth can be brutal. Especially when you're not prepared to hear it. So many of us would rather hear the thing that we want to hear rather than grapple with truth.

If there's one thing you should learn about kids, it's that they will tell the truth no matter how brutal that truth is. Sure, this idea is normally attributed to young children; toddlers are infamous for their ability to cut you down to size by telling you something exactly how they see it. But, that being said, if you've ever pressed an ornery teenager to be involved in something that they don't want to be involved in, or to answer a question about something they don't want to be a part of, be prepared for some pointedly cutting remarks. I mean, for Pete's sake, teenagers can even get angry about the idea of being stuck on a family vacation; the ideals of sharing a relaxing time in an idyllic location are overshadowed by the very thought of lost time with friends and individuality.

When this family, consisting of a 17-year-old and her mother and her mother's husband, "James," went on vacation together, conversation came up over a shared dinner with strangers regarding the husband and daughter's relation to one another. When the teen explained to the stranger's children that James wasn't her father, it triggered a response from her disappointed mother that only caused her to dig her heels in further. While it is understandable from the parents' perspective that they want her to feel close to James, putting pressure on her is only going to make the issue worse, not better.