Serious Love versus What Your Family Wants

Sepalcure

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Okay so I had a little internal debate with myself about whether I should even post this since my head's a little murky with emotions floating around. I'm pissed, more than a little dejected, and a bit disappointed at the moment but here goes . . . I mean I need to vent after all:

So we'll start with my boyfriend. For privacy's sake we'll call him . . . Adrian, 'cause that's obviously not his real name. Adrian was a guy I met through my room mate/bestie in college. He got my cell number from my FB profile when we befriended each other on there and we started talking. My roomie assured me that he was a good kid all in all but life wasn't all that fair to him (I have a knack for attracting guys like that) so I figured I'd give him a chance. We text back and forth and then eventually it leads to phone calls which then leads to our first date at the movies. Cute shit.

Now Adrian lives with his widowed mother. His dad passed away when Adrian was only 10 years old, from throat cancer. Up until that point the family which consisted of Adrian, his dad, his mom, and his older sister was pretty well adjusted. Financial shit was stable. Dad dies, obviously the financial shit is all out of whack so their mother is forced to work her ass off just to keep the roof over their heads. Adrian's not completely clean though, he smokes, he drinks, he's trying to quit both of those things. He works, full-time, and he's saving up money for a car. He's smart but he had some issues in schools: got into a lot of fights, got suspended a lot, but he graduated with his diploma and he's good now.

College. They can't afford it. He needs a better paying full time job to be qualified for financial aid. His mom doesn't pull in enough of an income to pay off student loans hence the reason that these two poor bright ass kids can't go through college. Now, bare with me, I love the boy. Which leads me to my point, my mom doesn't want me seeing him at all. She thinks he's no good, that he'll amount to nothing, that if I'm with him then chances are my grades will slip and I'll amount to nothing too. She thinks my judgment's fucked up because of this whole ordeal and that I need to see the bigger picture and that him being so young and having these addictions clearly isn't good. He knows that. He hates it. The kid's had a hard life but he's one of the sweetest guys I know; and frankly looks can be deceiving (he's 5'11" and 235 lb of muscle, he's pretty brawny).

I know my capabilities better than anyone else, my limits, what I can't and can handle, what I won't and will put up with. Yet my mom still decides to set limits for me and overprotect and cocoon me because to her (in my knowledge and defense) I'm still this scrawny ass little 6 year old kid. I still need to be sheltered away from the world. Not once since we hung out did Adrian ever pressure me to smoke or drink, not once did he ever entice me to go back to his house for sex. Matter fact when my parents were late two weeks ago, picking me up from the mall, he stood outside and waited with me in the fucking frigid cold to ensure that I'd get home safely. He could've left my ass if he was a good for nothing kid.

He wants to go to school, he wants to amount to something. He's told me countless times that he wants to do something with his life and that he hates working his life away; he's only 19. I know this boy, a lot more than my mom would think and yet she sees nothing in him: just a fucking delinquent and now not only am I pissed but she's also incurred his wrath at these heinous assumptions and judgments.

And I don't know what to do but I do want to be with him and continue seeing him, despite all of his flaws and letdowns and slip-ups, there's so much good in him and for now, he's one of the best things that's happened to me. But yeah my mom's assumptions and hurtful words and accusations are starting to crack through the foundation of our relationship. He doesn't want to leave me but he's already said that he doesn't want to put up with her and I don't blame him at all, in this case. No one should have to defend them self like that or actively seek approval so much that it enrages them.
So . . . thoughts? Agree? Disagree? :sad:
 
This is a pretty tough one, tbh :hmmm: I've seen my best friend go through something similar throughout the years, where she got involved with guys who seemed to fit the stereotypical "will never amount to anything" image that parents hate, and those guys ended up unfortunately living up to that image, and she ended up in jail once and lots of other kinds of trouble. However, it's also hard to judge someone's character until you've been with them for years and years, and even then you sometimes can't be 100% sure. I guess it kind of just depends on the person: he sounds like a good guy from what you've said, and I know for a fact there are tons of people in the world who are smart and willing enough to go to college and just can't afford it, for reasons that are no fault of their own. So if your parents are judging him because of that, then that's totally not fair. I mean, if he doesn't seem to hang out with anyone unscrupulous, or have unusual or secretive behavior, then he's probably fine. Also, the fact that he's working is a really good sign.

I think honestly, if you really like the guy, you should give him a chance regardless of what your mom says; overprotective mothers are usually going to give you crap whether there's a good reason for it or not, and I think people your age (ha I sound so old XD) are certainly old enough to know when it's time to get out. But I mean yeah, as long as he's not doing anything dangerous or that could put you in danger, then I don't really see a problem.
 
Your mom is being a mom and just wants whats best for you. She realy shouldnt be faulted for wanting the best for you. She just dosent want you to suffer for something thet might not last.
I would say have an indepth talk with her and explain, if the following happens to be true, You dont plan to Marry him anytime soon,you plan to finish whatever schooling you currently have planned and you want to focus on getting your life situated you just plan on continuing to date him for now,because lets be honest no one realy knows whats going to hapen a few years down the road.
Being realistic about it with her might be of more benefit than anything else.
It may annoy you of how she talks about him but honestly its just out of her love for you thet she wants you to do better for yourself. She wants you to have a good future. You cant realy fault her for that because its what most people want for their kids.
The silver lining in any defence of him is he works...if he stayed home over 50% of the time doing nothing id have an issue.
You and him dont seem to understand thet she loves you more than life and she wants better than in her eyes a bum for you,so yeah in a way you will always be a scrawny 6year old kid to her. Understanding that in itself would help things out alot.
Its not thet she dosent believe you cant take care of yourself because im sure she knows your able mind and bodied with good judgment she just wants someone for you whom will be good for you and to her he isnt.
Im not saying hes not,lordy I dont know you or him, But calming her fears thet you dont plan to wed and breed with him currently might help your cause in getting her to ease up about slaming him in the ground verbally all the time.
I just seriously hope hes nothing but respectfull when arround your mom,even if he knows she thinks shit of him, otherwise thats a bad omen......
 
I went through the same thing as you did four years ago.

I was employed full time, didn't ever drink or do drugs. (Not that I do those things now. A few drinks now and then.) I was a 'good little girl' who never had boyfriends etc so when I got my first few boyfriends my parents were overly protective even when I got with Steve.

Yes when I first met Steve he was unemployed and had a few bad habits and of course I knew that it was going to shit my parents off, but that wasn't the reason I got with him.

He was and still is a good, sweet, caring person. Unfortunately he just has a lot of bad luck, which he warned me about before we got too serious.

I was told by my parents that I couldn't see him and that he was just like all my other boyfriends and that he was just going to use me etc. But I knew he was way different to my other boyfriends if you could even call them that.

So I continued to see him and I even had to lie of my whereabouts most of the time just to be able to see him. It's always been like that with my parents. Tell them the truth and be locked up or lie and be able to do whatever I want.

So glad I haven't had to live with them the last three years of my life.

But anyway, if you like him, your parents can bugger off. It's your life and you need to experience certain things for yourself before you can see what it is you really want from life.

Parents try to keep you from making mistakes, but that's the worst thing they can do. Life is full of mistakes which enables you to then learn from them and not make the same one next time. No matter how much crap your parents give you for seeing this guy you should continue to see him if it's what you want.

Hopefully they'll come around and see that you guys are great together or at least be able to shut their mouths and just accept you two as a couple. But even if they don't I say screw them. I'm still with Steve today four years later and happier then ever and it wasn't because of anything my parents did. =/ I made the decision, stuck with Steve and things worked out better than I ever thought they would. The same may very well happen for you.
 
Hmm where to start... How old are you? I'm assuming you're an adult. is os, thats an answer in itself, You're an adult, meaning it doesn't matter what your mother thinks, it's your life, do what you like.

i know alot of guys that have had a hard life, and have all turned out to be hard working guys that are either in uni or are working and are earning big money.

i think you should stay with the guy. listen to your heart, not your mothers logic. like you said, looks can be decieving.
 
Mas has hit the nail on the head there. You are 18, a woman not a girl, you are capable of making the choices that suit you! In your heart of hearts you must know whether he is willing and capable to fulfill his potential, whatever that potential might be.

Never give up on a relationship because of anything anyone ELSE thinks. That way leads to regret. And 18 is young, you can see how it goes for a while, what's there to lose?

Good luck, Sneaker.
 
Well, I can see both arguements being valid. Naturally your mother is just looking out for you, like a good mother should. Maybe she's being overprotective, that would be up to you to judge. And you feel like you're old enough to date this gentleman. Being that you're a college student, I do agree that you are.

This would be my thought on it. You should date the guy, and convince your mother that if this relationship is a big mistake, that you'll learn from it. Your mother is looking at this from the standpoint that you could get hurt from it. Even if this is the case and the relationship turns out to be a total disaster, you'll get hurt, but it will be a valueable learning experience. As I always say, you can never regret a relationship because no matter how bad it may go, you learn from it, and that's a valueable lesson. Besides, if you don't date this dude, you'll always look back to it and wonder if things would been great with him, especially if you get into your mid-20's and still havent found love.

For the :tl;dr: post, you have to give the relationship a chance, for your own piece of mind and to gain wisdom in life.
 
You shouldn't strictly go by what your family wants, but you shouldn't strictly go on love, either. Both can lead to a bad end if you aren't careful. On one side, your family will be happy and you won't. On the other side, you may find out that the 'love' was just a hell-trap.

When it comes down to it, you should do what you think is right for you in the long run, and not at the current moment. That'll settle the inquiry you have.
 
I want to find someone that's right for me, yet at the same time, I don't want to disappoint my family by dating someone with a bad personality.
 
I want to find someone that's right for me, yet at the same time, I don't want to disappoint my family by dating someone with a bad personality.
Well, I'm glad you know what you want in a relationship. But the OP made this thread asking for advice, and she gave details about her situation. The idea was to help her by giving your thoughts on her situation, not what you'd want to do for your own situation.
 
I'm going to do something unusual and I know this isn't in the sleeping forest but I have been in this situation, and frankly still am.

My wife never went to college. I met her via a coffee pub website. I was actually seeing someone at the time who was double majoring, but things were reaaaally rocky because of how I felt towards her. We became friends, but only were friendly.

Now if I were merely choosing my wife, over my ex girlfriend based off of success in the job market well I would have gone with my ex. Though that's not the case, because no matter how much money people have, folks can be very incompatible.

Your life is your life, you can not let anyone, and I do mean anyone come in between it, though you can listen to advice. Your mom has a right to worry just like my parents. See my wife came from a divorced family and of course the lack of degree really bothered them. Though she busts her arse when she does have a job and it shows.

If I were to have chosen money over love or a false sense of security over love, well then.. I wouldn't be where I am today.
 
You're not wrong to want to pursue this guy and support him along the way, and I don't think your mother is wrong with her concerns either - so many people in his position don't get the chance they need to get back onto the rails, and unfortunately slip down avenues of ill-repute. She's probably not wrong in what she's saying.

I don't agree with the way she's going about this however; you and he have every reason to be peeved at her, and want to disregard her "advice". You're obviously in an emotional position and, really, need to be supported in your endeavour. It's a problem with a lot of parents - wanting to protect you from the mistakes they could well have made themselves but, I'm much this way myself, you go and do whatever anyway. Learning the hard way, be it educationally, practically or emotionally is (imo) the best way for a person to learn about most consequential things.

I don't know what your mother's like outside of this scenario, but if it's doable you should definitely think about maturely bringing her down to a grounded level. As you say, she's overprotecting an 18 yr old, not a child.
 
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