ARTS 'N FARTS 'N CRAFTS

My parents told me “You go to college immediately out of high school of you want any help paying for it.”

I had no idea what I wanted to be, and I had no idea what I wanted to study.

When I was accepted into my state university, my enthusiasm wasn’t sufficient for my parents, who called me an ungrateful shit for not appreciating this opportunity. I remember my dad screaming at me, slamming me against the wall and holding me there as he screamed in my face.

I was called ungrateful because “we’re paying for some of your college.”

The truth is, they didn’t pay a fucking dime toward my college. My mom worked at the university and because of this, I received a modest discount. To my parents, this was the equivalent of them paying for some of my college.

What bullshit.

My controlling mother processed all of my paperwork for student loans, so I had no idea what was in store for me when I got out. She even signed my name on the papers.

On top of this, I received no real aid from my family while I furthered my education; they still paid for my health insurance, car insurance, and for the first two years, put a roof over my head. I’m not ungrateful for that, but I know the tax deduction they got from still considering me a “dependent” outweighed the premiums they paid for me.

Mommy and daddy’s little tax write off.

They have a pontoon boat, now.

Meanwhile, I’m paying uncle Sam a significant portion of my meager income every year because I’m still under mothers wing, as far as the IRS is concerned.

I worked 35 hours a week, while going to school full time, which gave me far less time than I would have preferred to study, so my GPA upon graduation was embarrassing to me. And it definitely wouldn’t get me into any graduate study. I wanted to take fewer hours, but my mom assured me that I would lose my financial aid if I did this.

“Financial Aid” is such a bullshit term.

I exited college with $25,000 in debt, which is when I discovered that mom lied to me about paying for some of my schooling.

At the same time, they dropped me off of their insurance, and health insurance, and still had the nerve to claim me as a dependent for the first year I was out on my own.

An I jaded? Is this commonplace?

I landed a decent job straight out of college, and was laid off after 3.5 years.

I very quickly landed a less than decent job, where I make 60% less than I previously made, so needless to say, my future is indefinitely on hold.

I am eternally resentful for the pressure my parents put me through to further my education on their watch. I have a college degree that I will never utilize, and will be paying for it, for at least the next decade.

So forgive me, mom and dad, if I don’t want to go out with you, every weekend, on your fucking pontoon boat (which, by the way, is, hands down, the shittiest type of boat you could possibly buy). Maybe you could give me the fucking boat as repayment for the well of debt you dug for me, and kicked me into.