First off, I’m not and never have taken advantage of you in any situation involving school. you need to understand that this is the THIRD time you’ve done this to me (IE: Pulled my tuition and prevented me from getting an education), and I personally thought that a parent’s job was to support their kids in getting an education, not take one away from them.
Secondly, I NEVER asked you guys to pay off my credit card, never ASKED you to buy furniture for the new place, or pay my rent, never ASKED you to pay for school this time around either. You OFFERED, and I accepted, so how can I be taking advantage of something that you OFFERED to me? I never expected any more, I never expected you to do it in the first place. So I do resent the fact that I hear that you are calling me scandalous in more words than that.
Thirdly, I had NO intention of even thinking about asking you to “help me out” with my debt or whatever expenses I incurred on this trip. Or any subsequent debt since you OFFERED to pay off my credit card. The laptop was a miscommunication and I never ONCE put up ANY argument when you told me it was my responsibility since I dropped it and broke it.
It honestly doesn’t weigh on me whether you supported the trip I just took or even thought it was a good idea. With all due respect, it was My choice because it is MY life, and the progress that I made personally, emotionally AND educationally from leaving for Europe for a week was priceless and I regret absolutely nothing of it. I’m sorry if you do not share my sentiments or subscribe to my theory, that is your choice and I respect that, but you must respect mine as well.
I took the trip and made sure I was back in time for school. Have been planning to and WILL be pulling extra shifts at the nightclub to recoup for financial expenditures for my trip overseas. I have calculated my options and made decisions based on that. And I am an adult, ergo I do not see a need or obligation for me to fill you in on every detail or plan of my life. I would consider that a privilege and an accommodation that I chose to open up to you like that.
I could understand your reasoning for pulling tuition and discontinued support if I was addicted to meth and failing miserably at school or partying uncontrollably and not using my time wisely. But last time I checked which was ummm… just now. I’m NOT addicted to meth, or crack, or coke or whatever else you could possibly fathom I could get into. I am NOT getting bad grades. Unless you consider a 3.73 GPA for fall semester poor form. I’m not partying all the time or wasting my time whatsoever. Though my life and careers revolve around the nightlife, just because I go out to a club does not by ANY means mean that I am disgustingly drunk and sick the next morning.
I was not aware at any time that your financial support through school was contingent upon me approving my personal plans through you. I do not see how you can distort this scenario in the way that it has been and think that I have made a bad choice. The recent trip in no way has retroactively affected the financial situation of my schooling, nor will it. If I had chosen not to tell you, you would be none the wiser and things would have continued on as planned, uninterrupted. My intention in telling you my plans to leave for Europe was to (hopefully) try to shed some light on my personal life to you, which clearly did not happen.
I feel that you do not trust me to make my own decisions, and are fervent in the belief that YOU know what is best for ME. Which is a theory that I strongly disagree with. I believe that I have given no grounds for your discontinued support and that you pulling the rug out like this is unjustified and moreover, vindictive. I would hope that you will be able to see at some point that I am not one to waste my time or make poor decisions.
If you feel that you would rather no longer support me, that is your choice and I will respect that. My frustration lies in the fact that I had everything all ready and planned out to attend Uni in the fall of 2008, and it was to be done on my own. I never asked for you to pay my tuition, but you stepped in and offered your financial support. Upon acceptance of your support and the mutual understanding that I no longer needed to apply for student loans or other financial aid, I declined those external financial support systems under the pretense that with good educational work ethic and grades to demonstrate that, I would have your continued support. If there was any foreshadowing that this situation would come up for a third time, I would have declined your help from the very start and sorted all of this out on my own.
Unfortunately now, I am not able to do so and face dropping out of school, and possible eviction from my apartment (mind you I spent a total of $125 of my own while over seas, so I had no money for rent to begin with, so either way I would have been screwed -for lack of a better word- had you done this without me traveling) being forced to drop out of school will set me back an entire year. Which I had done everything in my power to avoid, this would be educationally devastating to me, considering that I thoroughly enjoy school as well as excel in my studies and classes.
I do not have anything else to say. I feel our relationship has been reduced to a business transaction so I will treat it like one. As my parents, I would hope that you would be able to understand that I am not, in fact (to some peoples disbelief) an idiot, and I DO know how to make decisions that will benefit myself and my situation. It is very disheartening that I feel you cannot trust me to make good choices for myself, but instead cloak your conversations with me in doubt and judgment. If this is how our relationship is going to be (which it has been for a very long time, dating back to the point where I would say I wanted a horse when I was older, and being told it was an irrational dream b/c they were too expensive and I would not be able to afford one) I will opt out of having one. I chose to surround myself with people who support my goals and dreams (though big as they may seem) and push me to grow as a person and take steps that only I might understand to do so. I’ve come to the understanding that family does not always exist within the boundaries of blood but rather by the relationship you have with people, regardless of relation.
Regards.