Honestly, I don't know where to start, but I've learned that when discussing my situation, it's best not to beat around the bush.
Let me start with my parents. Frankly, I can't stand my parents. Over the past 18 years, I've done my best to make peace with them. My father is verbally abusive, and was physically abusive up until the point where I got old enough to hit back. My mother is not abusive towards me, but I cannot stand her because she is an arrogant, close-minded, hypocritical, racist bigot who believes that she is better than everybody else, and thinks that being wealthy gives her the right to step on everybody else.
Now, I understand that, as a young man barely out of my teen years, the statement that "my parents are abusive and/or evil" or anything along those lines is not especially believable. I offer you these two examples to demonstrate how my parents have frustrated me over the years. Please keep in mind that these are not the only examples of how they have ruined my image of them, and that these are simply mundane examples of what they do every day.
Also, I am not in any way stating that I had a traumatic childhood. I grew up in an upper-middle-class household, and am blessed to have three square meals a day. At the same time, the things my parents have said and done on a day-to-day basis has frustrated me to the point where I no longer want to have anything to do with them. I appreciate what they have given me up to this point, but I do not believe that this gives them the right to to be arrogant and abusive bigots.
During my freshman year in high school, my father threatened to break my legs so that I would focus on school instead of basketball, which was a sport that I genuinely loved with all of my heart. I finished that particular semester with a 3.2 GPA and that entire year with a 3.1 overall. I recognize that a 3.1 is not phenomenal, but, certainly, I don't think it merits a threat of that gravity.
On another example, when I was younger, my mother once refused to give a phone call to my best friend's mother to ask if I could come over and play. Her argument was that she was a doctor, and that made her better than my best friend's mother. Therefore, it was only proper that they call us, and not the other way around. ["I am a DOCTOR! Who the FUCK are they to ask that WE CALL THEM? If they want their son to hang out with the son of a doctor, they should be calling us! Not the other way around!"] As an adult, I still have the same best friend. On the chance that my best friend and I go to the same college, his parents have offered to pay for my room and board if we end up as roommates. In short, they genuinely respect me, and consider me a third son [after my best friend's little brother]. I do not believe that they deserve to be looked down upon like that, regardless of their social status. They have proven themselves as more-than-worthy people in my eyes, and I feel that my mother's arrogance and bigotry towards them was highly-uncalled-for.
Which brings me to my problem. I have been accepted to several colleges at this point. My first choice is UC Santa Cruz, which ranks #71 on US News & World Report's College Rankings. Other contenders are USF and UC Riverside [As mentioned above, my best friend's parents have offered to pay for my room and board fees if I go to college with him, and he will most likely commit to UCR].
Now, I know that what I want to be in life is a teacher. My high school is a prestigious school that upholds good morals, is committed to social justice, and has demonstrated a genuine concern for the well-being of everybody who is a member of its community. It is a second home to me. No, let me correct myself -- I'm more comfortable on campus than I am in my own home.
I want to come back to this school to be an alumni-teacher. This is quite common at this school. I would estimate that approximately 35 - 60% of the teachers at this school are alumni who have been as inspired as I have to come back and teach.
If I come back to teach, I will be teaching English. Specifically, writing. I have a natural talent for writing. Once, I joked with my Creative Writing teacher [a brilliant man who I genuinely respect] that I would come back and steal his job once I was done with college. He looked at me, and said, quite seriously, "You'd do a better job than I ever would as a teacher."
I know that high school teachers are not the wealthiest people on Earth, but I've experienced the wealthy side of life, and would accept a somewhat-less outlandish lifestyle if I could have a job I was happy with.
My parents refuse to pay for my college education, however, unless I choose to pursue a career in medicine.
I do NOT want ANYTHING to do with medicine. I understand that it is a noble profession full of good people who save lives, but it is simply a career track that I cannot possibly imagine myself being happy with.
The resolution I came to tonight was that I would break free from my parents' grasp on me. I will go to college without their support and pursue the career I want, their sanity be damned to Hell.
If they choose to change their mind and support me, I will not accept. They will have absolutely no say in what I do with my life. This is my resolution: I am an adult, and I will go to college as an independent adult.
Now that I have made this resolution, I must face the sad conclusion that I have no idea how I'm going to pay for college. I am considering everything from a part-time job to government loans. However, I have no idea what these options will mean for my future. For example, are government student loans worth it?
Just for the record, attending UC Santa Cruz will cost me approximately $50,000 a year, and UC Riverside will cost me about $27,000 a year. [If I accept my friend's parents' offer for room and board, I intend to pay them back as soon as I begin earning a steady income.]
I appreciate the time everybody took to read all of this, and would thank anybody who has any advice or input for me.
Let me start with my parents. Frankly, I can't stand my parents. Over the past 18 years, I've done my best to make peace with them. My father is verbally abusive, and was physically abusive up until the point where I got old enough to hit back. My mother is not abusive towards me, but I cannot stand her because she is an arrogant, close-minded, hypocritical, racist bigot who believes that she is better than everybody else, and thinks that being wealthy gives her the right to step on everybody else.
Now, I understand that, as a young man barely out of my teen years, the statement that "my parents are abusive and/or evil" or anything along those lines is not especially believable. I offer you these two examples to demonstrate how my parents have frustrated me over the years. Please keep in mind that these are not the only examples of how they have ruined my image of them, and that these are simply mundane examples of what they do every day.
Also, I am not in any way stating that I had a traumatic childhood. I grew up in an upper-middle-class household, and am blessed to have three square meals a day. At the same time, the things my parents have said and done on a day-to-day basis has frustrated me to the point where I no longer want to have anything to do with them. I appreciate what they have given me up to this point, but I do not believe that this gives them the right to to be arrogant and abusive bigots.
During my freshman year in high school, my father threatened to break my legs so that I would focus on school instead of basketball, which was a sport that I genuinely loved with all of my heart. I finished that particular semester with a 3.2 GPA and that entire year with a 3.1 overall. I recognize that a 3.1 is not phenomenal, but, certainly, I don't think it merits a threat of that gravity.
On another example, when I was younger, my mother once refused to give a phone call to my best friend's mother to ask if I could come over and play. Her argument was that she was a doctor, and that made her better than my best friend's mother. Therefore, it was only proper that they call us, and not the other way around. ["I am a DOCTOR! Who the FUCK are they to ask that WE CALL THEM? If they want their son to hang out with the son of a doctor, they should be calling us! Not the other way around!"] As an adult, I still have the same best friend. On the chance that my best friend and I go to the same college, his parents have offered to pay for my room and board if we end up as roommates. In short, they genuinely respect me, and consider me a third son [after my best friend's little brother]. I do not believe that they deserve to be looked down upon like that, regardless of their social status. They have proven themselves as more-than-worthy people in my eyes, and I feel that my mother's arrogance and bigotry towards them was highly-uncalled-for.
Which brings me to my problem. I have been accepted to several colleges at this point. My first choice is UC Santa Cruz, which ranks #71 on US News & World Report's College Rankings. Other contenders are USF and UC Riverside [As mentioned above, my best friend's parents have offered to pay for my room and board fees if I go to college with him, and he will most likely commit to UCR].
Now, I know that what I want to be in life is a teacher. My high school is a prestigious school that upholds good morals, is committed to social justice, and has demonstrated a genuine concern for the well-being of everybody who is a member of its community. It is a second home to me. No, let me correct myself -- I'm more comfortable on campus than I am in my own home.
I want to come back to this school to be an alumni-teacher. This is quite common at this school. I would estimate that approximately 35 - 60% of the teachers at this school are alumni who have been as inspired as I have to come back and teach.
If I come back to teach, I will be teaching English. Specifically, writing. I have a natural talent for writing. Once, I joked with my Creative Writing teacher [a brilliant man who I genuinely respect] that I would come back and steal his job once I was done with college. He looked at me, and said, quite seriously, "You'd do a better job than I ever would as a teacher."
I know that high school teachers are not the wealthiest people on Earth, but I've experienced the wealthy side of life, and would accept a somewhat-less outlandish lifestyle if I could have a job I was happy with.
My parents refuse to pay for my college education, however, unless I choose to pursue a career in medicine.
I do NOT want ANYTHING to do with medicine. I understand that it is a noble profession full of good people who save lives, but it is simply a career track that I cannot possibly imagine myself being happy with.
The resolution I came to tonight was that I would break free from my parents' grasp on me. I will go to college without their support and pursue the career I want, their sanity be damned to Hell.
If they choose to change their mind and support me, I will not accept. They will have absolutely no say in what I do with my life. This is my resolution: I am an adult, and I will go to college as an independent adult.
Now that I have made this resolution, I must face the sad conclusion that I have no idea how I'm going to pay for college. I am considering everything from a part-time job to government loans. However, I have no idea what these options will mean for my future. For example, are government student loans worth it?
Just for the record, attending UC Santa Cruz will cost me approximately $50,000 a year, and UC Riverside will cost me about $27,000 a year. [If I accept my friend's parents' offer for room and board, I intend to pay them back as soon as I begin earning a steady income.]
I appreciate the time everybody took to read all of this, and would thank anybody who has any advice or input for me.
.