My parents say I am "a horrible person"...but I have a lot of friends.

Is it possible to be a horrible person and have friends? I don't know if I truly am horrible, or if I just have a strange emotional relationship with my parents.

My mom and dad have often used the word "horrible" to describe me throughout my childhood. It seemed like I was always in trouble for common things like talking back or being rude to my sister. (I've gotten better about that with age, of course.)

Outside of the house, I was always a great child...an A student my entire life, very disciplined at school, loved by my teachers (and adults in general), etc.

But the rhetoric my parents created when I was young is that I am a fundamentally horrible person and nobody will ever want to be my friend. They were so adamant with this idea that it shaped how I saw myself.

In high school, however, I made so many friends—from all kinds of social groups. I even won multiple student-chosen awards for kindness, citizenship, things like that. I am told by my friends that everybody likes me and am often described as "sweet" or "gentle", but I just can't believe it. The word "horrible" is engraved into my self perception and I feel genuine disbelief when complimented on my personality.

Can horrible people make friends? Am I really horrible, or is it normal for a child (particularly one on the spectrum) to show their parents the worst side of them? Is it crazy that my parents' words have made me struggle to believe my friends' opinions of me?