I'm 20 years old, barely enjoying my life that is along the poverty line, with an overprotective mom. I fortunately have state endorsement for my college because I don't make $100K+/year in my state. I graduate this spring with my Associate's Degree. I should be happy, but I'm not. I'm not even continuing college because I want to, but because mom wants me to and she means well by it. “Means well,” at this point she's blinded by how she means well that at this point she doesn't know how this affects me. It's also hard to change her mind.
How bad is this? Well… put yourself in my shoes. You have an overprotective mom basically making every life choice for you because she means well to a MAJOR fault, tells you all the time that you don't like this, think of creative ways to make money, yet at the same time will give you no independence with your own bank account and would want to know your whereabouts and where your money came from. Now, I know a lot of people are supposedly against people encouraging others to stop working at home and come back to the office, but with me it's the opposite. I'm forced to do college from home when leaving the house to the campus would do my mind a lot of good. I'm vaccinated, I'm just as germophobic as she is, yet she will not let me go because she fears getting COVID (when she herself is vaccinated and showed no bad side effects from the vaccine aka she is fine). This forced quarantine is so bad, I literally had to think twice before applying to go to my own Commencement coming in May; my first response to the principal was just, “can I have my diploma mailed to me?” which makes me die on the inside.
All this should be incentive to just walk away from the scenario, move out. That's the “antiwork” problem in this situation. If I leave now with my Associate's, I know DAMN WELL I won't be paid well enough to keep a roof over my head, since supposedly a lot of jobs offer 25K/year to those with this degree. I also have a brother who is a decade younger to worry about, who wouldn't grasp any part of why I moved out. I stay because our current family bond is fragile, and because I have no financial ability to do so, and I will only be paid mere pennies compared to what landlords would ask of me for rent. As far as means to make money being self-employed, and working towards what I love and want to achieve (not what she wants), I can't have any of that as long as I have financial dependence.
Please though, I don't ask for any Redditor to try and make my problems go away, or start a GoFundMe, I just need advice. I'm at the point where mobile games, making videos, or doing art, is not helping me anymore. I had no clue who else to come to.