When you are a father you know that when your kids enter the teenage years there will be a period where they will rebel and question the norms of society. When my daughter did this I was of course shocked and her becoming a gothic made me feel uneasy, I thought instantly she would not be accepted at school and she was opening her self up to be marginalised and bullied.

However, I couldn’t help see how marvellous it was to be rebelling, and to think differently. It reminded me of the people in my life I admire where always the independents, the crazy thinkers, who don’t try and be popular.

I created Reeves from her energy and I just love this character. The name comes from the famous band The Cure and its guitarist, Reeves Gabrels. She is like my daughter, suddenly old in thought, tired from the unhonest of the world. No longer pretending to understand it all and focused on the reality of the world.

She wanted to be different. It made her happy. This clear defiance in the face of everything normal gave me a sense of pride and joy in my daughter that I could not adequately express except through a cartoon.

I can see some parents struggle with children who choose not to fit in, it can be a very difficult and sometimes heartbreaking struggle. I find his daughter’s rebellious state to be something altogether different. I think it is to be celebrated and embraced.

If we can make being different ok , then it creates a place for our kids to wild and crazy challenging the dominant paragon of our choices.

I hope a piece of her stays a little honest and a little rebellious.

My daughter likes Autumn because everything is about to die.

She is a little unsure of how the world will react to her and expects the worst.

I thought she was too introverted, but she explained an introvert likes their own company and it’s not a fault.

She loves to read and write and think about things above the day to day.

I don’t know what she will be when she grows up, but hopefully it won’t be normal.

I think her brother get’s the worst of her rebellion.

Or it could be me that get’s the worst. I thought I would have like one of those sitcom daughters that are all happy and fun, but I think that would be not fun.

I think she gets all these crazy ideas from dead people.

She doesn’t seem to mind depression, it’s like a blanket of honesty to her.

I would love to have her leading the class, and being the greatest but she ends up just being beautiful the way she is.

When I am caught with work and thinking of the daily dramas she does pull me out.

As a father though you just wonder what she will miss out on by not fitting in.

I am her father, and it sort comes with an implied ability and responsibility to socialise and normalise her.

As long as she is happy I would tell myself, but maybe there is more.

To see more of my REEVES, or THEO the dad in my cartoon, I do daily cartoons, follow me at one of the following:

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