I always say that if you keep your expectations low you won't be disappointed.

It's hard when we want our parents to change. Most of the time they are set in their ways....my mom has told me she isn't going to change...so yes, we do have to change how we deal with them. It's very hard and it sounds like you want your dad to accept you, to approve of you....don't allow him to have the power to make you feel so badly about yourself. Don't expect him to say the things you WANT him to say if he hasn't done it in the past. Parents are human and aren't perfect even when we want them to be.