Oh, family.
Alright, so I really don't know where to begin.
Let me start out by saying that I'm a Christian, but no one else in my immediate family is.
That's really stressful on me, because not only do I have to go to church and endure the never-ending,
"Oh Katie, where're your parents today?",
but I also have to deal with the knowledge that they aren't saved.
I'm going to break this down into categories:
Relationship:
Today, I realized how terrible the relationship I have with my parents is.
It seems that no matter what I do, all they ever do is criticize me.
I've found that lately, when they're going somewhere, I always prefer to just stay home by myself.
I can't talk to them about anything!
It's really pitiful when your own child would rather stay home alone than go somewhere with you, isn't it?
And really, when I say that they criticize me about everything, I'm being serious.
(Last year, on our standardized testing, I got a paper in the mail that said that I did better than 98% of students in Louisiana. All my mom had to say was, "Why didn't you do better than 99%?" Sure, you may think that she was joking, but she wasn't.
School:
Lately, my mom's been really worried about my schooling situation.
She wants me to go to a boarding school almost three hours away from here, which I really don't want to do.
She said I either have to go there or go to a private school in another state. (Mississippi)
Not that it's all that far away, but the point is, she isn't giving me a choice.
No matter what I try to say to her about it, all she ever does is shoot me down, tell me to shut up, or tell me that she's the one who makes the decisions.
I really need to have a say-so in this, after all, I'm the one who's going to end up being forced to go to school somewhere.
And if I'm forced to go there, I'm going to hate it.
My boyfriend:
I have a really amazing boyfriend. He's really focused on God, and he keeps me focused too. But for some reason, my family just doesn't like him! (It probably has to do with the fact that he's a really passionate Christian, and they aren't Christian at all.) But really. He hasn't ever done anything to me, or anyone else for that matter, to make them not like him. But they can't stand him anyway. And I can't even try to talk to them about it, because I know they aren't going to listen. I've tried before, and all they ever do is tell me to shut up!
I really wish my parents would go to church, but they just won't. I've actually gotten grounded before for commenting on the fact that I have to go by myself.
I just don't know what to do anymore. I try to talk to my boyfriend about it, but really, he can't think of anything to do either. I've tried praying about it; I pray about it every day. But the situation just doesn't get any better.
I know that I'll probably be a stronger person in the future, because I'm making all these decisions on my own right now, and because I won't rely as much on my parents whenever I get old enough to move out. (And really, I plan on moving out as soon as I'm legal age.)
But I just don't know how to make it through these days until then.
I end up crying over it almost every day; you'd think I'd stop trying to have talks with them after all this time, but I haven't.
And I just don't know what to do anymore.
Thanks for reading all of this, if you did. That really really means a lot to me.
God bless you guys.
-Katie
Alright, so I really don't know where to begin.
Let me start out by saying that I'm a Christian, but no one else in my immediate family is.
That's really stressful on me, because not only do I have to go to church and endure the never-ending,
"Oh Katie, where're your parents today?",
but I also have to deal with the knowledge that they aren't saved.
I'm going to break this down into categories:
Relationship:
Today, I realized how terrible the relationship I have with my parents is.
It seems that no matter what I do, all they ever do is criticize me.
I've found that lately, when they're going somewhere, I always prefer to just stay home by myself.
I can't talk to them about anything!
It's really pitiful when your own child would rather stay home alone than go somewhere with you, isn't it?
And really, when I say that they criticize me about everything, I'm being serious.
(Last year, on our standardized testing, I got a paper in the mail that said that I did better than 98% of students in Louisiana. All my mom had to say was, "Why didn't you do better than 99%?" Sure, you may think that she was joking, but she wasn't.
School:
Lately, my mom's been really worried about my schooling situation.
She wants me to go to a boarding school almost three hours away from here, which I really don't want to do.
She said I either have to go there or go to a private school in another state. (Mississippi)
Not that it's all that far away, but the point is, she isn't giving me a choice.
No matter what I try to say to her about it, all she ever does is shoot me down, tell me to shut up, or tell me that she's the one who makes the decisions.
I really need to have a say-so in this, after all, I'm the one who's going to end up being forced to go to school somewhere.
And if I'm forced to go there, I'm going to hate it.
My boyfriend:
I have a really amazing boyfriend. He's really focused on God, and he keeps me focused too. But for some reason, my family just doesn't like him! (It probably has to do with the fact that he's a really passionate Christian, and they aren't Christian at all.) But really. He hasn't ever done anything to me, or anyone else for that matter, to make them not like him. But they can't stand him anyway. And I can't even try to talk to them about it, because I know they aren't going to listen. I've tried before, and all they ever do is tell me to shut up!
I really wish my parents would go to church, but they just won't. I've actually gotten grounded before for commenting on the fact that I have to go by myself.
I just don't know what to do anymore. I try to talk to my boyfriend about it, but really, he can't think of anything to do either. I've tried praying about it; I pray about it every day. But the situation just doesn't get any better.
I know that I'll probably be a stronger person in the future, because I'm making all these decisions on my own right now, and because I won't rely as much on my parents whenever I get old enough to move out. (And really, I plan on moving out as soon as I'm legal age.)
But I just don't know how to make it through these days until then.
I end up crying over it almost every day; you'd think I'd stop trying to have talks with them after all this time, but I haven't.
And I just don't know what to do anymore.
Thanks for reading all of this, if you did. That really really means a lot to me.
God bless you guys.
-Katie