A young man has shared his painful journey growing up with a father whose rigidity and coldness have left deep scars on their relationship. In a candid post on Reddit, he reveals how the lessons he learned from his dad were not those of love and support, but rather how to avoid being a father like him.

“As a teenager, I used to like my dad. But as I matured, I began to see the emotional chasm between us,” he wrote. His father maintained an emotionally distant stance, often repeating that a father loves his children but cannot show it, which he dismisses as a weak excuse for neglect.

“I will not seek my father’s opinion when it comes time for me to marry,” he asserted, firmly rejecting his father’s traditional views on marriage, which include marrying within their caste and through arranged means. “Everything I learned from my dad is how to not be a dad,” he stated, making it clear that he intends to break this cycle of emotional neglect.

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