Home More advice Religion, Spirituality & Folklore
Hello, my name is Dylan and I'm 16 soon to be 17. How do I live with such strict christian parents? I've searched the whole internet and cannot find a single person with parents as strict as mine. To start off with, I seriously wish I even HAD a curfew. I'm not allowed to go out. At all. For a long time, school was my escape. Now their homeschooling me so I can be under their iron fist ALL day everyday. I never see my friends and I have to secretly talk to them on the internet because my parents literally approve of nothing. I can't listen to any of the music I like because they believe that anything other than southern gospel is a sin. And that's the shitiest music ever! So I have to sneak to listen to what I want. If that wasn't bad enough, they get rid of our cable tv and then get rid of my video games! Just took them all from me against my will. Everytime I ever had a relationship with a girl, they ruined it. They ruined my last relationship by forbidding me to talk to her simply because of something they didn't like on her facebook page. How fucking ridiculous is that? And worst of all they're super strict christians and they're always ramming religion down my throat. I mean they're always doing it. And they are these crazy tongue talkers too. They force me to go to church and my dad even forced me to go to the altar and have twenty people put their hands on me crying and shouting trying to make me receive the holy ghost. None of my extended family associates with us because of them. So really, I have nobody. They get mad at me if I don't constantly have my nose shoved in the bible and they never leave me alone. And my dad is the worse one. Every day when he comes home, he instantly forbids me to go in my room. And I never did anything wrong. He just tries his best to push my buttons just so he can punish me for getting pissed. Sorry for the lenghty rant, but I'm nothing like my parents. I just want a normal life. I graduate next year and I am moving out ASAP. How do I survive this last year? They used to not be so strict, but it progressively got (and is still getting) worse. Any advice would be appreciated. And it would be nice to know that someone else is or has been in this same situation. It's all just so depressing and sometimes it just makes me feel suicidal. Can't they see that they're choking the life out of me?
Wow. That's bad. Really bad. I guess you have to decide if it's child abuse ... this certainly comes close. If so, then contact the authorities (police, school social services). If you do not feel that's the case (or think authorities would not agree with you), you could investigate having the court declare you an emancipated minor. That is difficult without your parents' permission, especially if you cannot support yourself (I assume you cannot). Another alternative is to escape to the military, but that, too, requires parental permission if you're under 18. Is it possible that someone in your extended family would take you in? If so, they might be able to talk to your parents for you and convince them to let you go. Finally, (and I hate saying this) ... you can simply endure it until the day you get to leave. Looking ahead to a year of prison sounds terrible ... because it is. But you can do it if you have to. Sorry that I can't give you the secret code of Teen Rescuers from Planet X. Good luck.
