I love my mother to death but lately she's been getting on my last nerves. I always spend every weekend with her, every week night with her. I rarely hang out with other people because I want to spend time with my mom, but naturally I want to break free. I'm so close to her but I don't want to ruin things by expressing my need for freedom.
I want to remain as close to my mom as I am, but break free at the same time. I am 19 but I feel as if I need to ASK her if I can do something with my friends. And she gives me the third degree and makes me feel guilty for wanting to go hang out with other people. And the plans have to be totally worked out to get out of her plans. If I make plans to "hang out" at around 130ish on Sunday, I get yelled at. She craves logic, and sometimes people need to be rational and FULLY walked through. Talk about being irrational and flimsy on her plans, she changes them as they happen, yet she expects an exact plan before. That just doesn't happen with college students like me.
Another thing she's been doing is looking through my phone. I will wake up and look at my phone to see no new text messages, but I look through my conversations, and my messages have been opened!! This is one of the things that has been bugging me the most! Also, if I am texting she'll yell at me. She claims it is only at "public" places like when we go out to eat. She lies. When I am at home sitting on the computer with nothing to do I also text people, it's just what I do when I'm bored.
A subtopic to the texting thing is that including rooting through my conversations, she makes me "prove" who I'm talking to, and who I am talking to. And if it's someone she doesn't think I should be texting she'll give me a very very big guilt trip, and also yell at me. And no matter who it is she will ask "What are you talking about" and then I'll give her a brief overview to get her off my back and she says "You've sent like six messages, that's only one message! Let me see your conversation, that doesn't make any logical sense!" and again I show her to get her off of my back, but I hold my phone. And she accuses me of hiding something, and says "you shouldn't be doing OR saying things that you have to hide, Mercedes"
It's not that I'm wanting to hide things!! Not at all, it is just that I have personal conversations with people that are private, that she doesn't need to see. I don't hide things from her, but when I'm flirting with a guy, or helping a friend through a rough time, I don't want to disclose every ounce of information to my Mother. I'm sorry Mom, it's not that I want to hide things from you, but I am having private conversations sometimes that aren't meant for your ears!
The last thing that kind of bugs me that she does is she stands over my shoulder when I open my facebook. If I am chatting with someone, she insists I read the message that they send me in front of her. Then she calls the conversation pointless if she doesn't find it adequete.
MOM I JUST NEED FREEDOM! I LOVE YOU BUT YOU'RE OVERSTEPPING YOUR BOUNDARIES!!
Yes she pays for my phone, but I'd rather pay for my own so she can't tell me to "Stop texting!" or ask me "Who are you texting, tell me now." and then always say "I don't believe you. Prove it"
I want to move out, I've been offered to room with one of my closest friends starting this summer at 215 dollars a month. I can't afford it, but I'm thinking I might just want to find a way to afford it. I love the perks of staying home for college, FREE FOOD, FREE ENTERTAINMENT, FREE UTILITIES, NO RENT!!!!!!!!!! That's why I don't want to move, but this is a trade-off... For free and very generous things my Mother offers me, I have to give up freedoms and not learn how to be on my own.
She told me I can't move out because I'd drop out because I'd get so concentrated on needing money that I'd stop going to school. But what does any other college student do? do they drop out?! As much as I would LOVE not to have tons of student loans after I get out of college, and not have to work right after I get out of college, and have time to travel, and not have to pay all of my money to student loans, I don't know. It's seeming essential at this point.
I don't know what to do.
Any advice?