How do I contain myself for the last year and a half at home?

Well, I don't like being told what to do either, but here is a reality check.

In your life you're gonna have teachers they are going to tell you what to do.
In your life you're gonna have a boss and he/she is going to tell you what to do.

If your doctor said" stop eatting red meat or you're gonna die!" would keep doing it just to spite them.

No one like being told what to do, but these people are telling you what is required of you. They're not doing it becuase its fun to boss people around.

If you want more freedom from your parents tell and make a deal. You can do stay out til X time, if you keep your grade average at a certain level; or you can go to so-and-so's party if you're home by a certain time.

And that feeling of wanting to be in control your life...thats called growing up and it's a natural feeling but when you get to that 1.5 year mark you want to know you are ready to independent, so use this as a sort of practice run.


Godd luck out there.

 

Being truly free also means to be free of your own urges.
If you suddenly have the urges to eat 3 kg of chocolate, you're going to end up sick. Sure you can do it, but if you do, you're not free, you're enslave of your immediate desires and unable to clearly see what is better for yourself.
Dairy products give me horrible migraines. But I love dairy products. Yes it's frustrating not to eat them, but I also know it's best for my health.

If you're parents are going to decide for you what you can or can't do until you're of age, it's for a reason. Because until the end of adolecence (and often even after) people care more about doing what they want to do than thinking about what they have to do.
Frustration is a very educational experience, first because in society you're free until a certain limit (wich usualy is the limit of the law), and second because becoming an adult also means being able to free oneself from their immediate desire to be able to take best care of themselves.

 

Ahaha! Bro, I know how you feel. But really, I rekon you should try and cherish these last 1.5 years of "restriction" because once you break free from it, you have to ride under a massive wave of responsibility. Taking care of yourself, having a job, and sometimes, taking care of others. Trust me when I say being restricted for just a couple more years is a good trade off. Oh, but I do admire the rebel streak. I'm just starting to pull out of it myself bro. Hang in there kitty!

 

When I moved out, I decided that I was going to do all kinds of stuff I always wanted to do, but never could while I still lived at home.
Things like staying up 48 hours while watching all my favourite movies. Spending a day naked just because I could. Break my personal record of eating ice cream. Going for a walk outside in the middle of the night...

After a week or so, I discovered that those things all seemed exciting, but were pretty boring in reality. The one thing that made them seem exciting was that I wasn't allowed to do them before.

After two weeks, I started calling my mom to ask her how she would handle certain things, not because I craved control, but because I found out that the way my parents handled life was actually a pretty good set-up for getting things done and still have some free time. So my rebellious streak took a whole 14 days :lol:

When your parents aggravate you, you just need to take a couple of deep breaths and try to put yourself in their shoes. They're really not asking you to do things because they're power-crazed or enjoy bossing you around. They just have a household to run, and that takes some effort from everyone to make sure that things get done, and no one gets into possibly dangerous situations.

Living together takes some sacrifices from everyone. Even if they don't make a big deal of it, they also do a lot of things they'd rather not do, just to make sure that living together works. And even when living alone, you'll have to make certain sacrifices to make sure there's food on the table and you keep the house liveable.
For example, everyone needs to ask others for money. Having a job might seem different, but fundamentally it's still you doing chores for someone else for money. Unless you're a multimillionaire living off your vast fortune. But getting there takes longer than 1,5 years

 

Frankly, I don't think you are aware just how much you don't know about life. You will never be total control of yourself. Situations that will lead to lack of total control involve: being in college, having a job, being married, renting an apartment, being a citizen, being married, being a good friend, being a good son, being a good father, and there are many more. Being independent is really only a good thing if you understand how to be a responsible person. Spend your next 1.5 years learning responsibility and you will be in a better place once you are independent.

 

I'm going to congratulate you for this! I think it is perfectly healthy and normal for a 16 year old to start exerting your independence and feeling that you need to take your life into your own hands. This is going to set you up well later in life when you will be in total control and you'll be 100% responsible for the consequences of your decisions and actions. Some people are more comfortable being followers and others are born to be leaders, and it sounds like you might be in the latter category - great, because this world needs more leaders!

I personally admire strongly independent people - as long as they really are in control and not in fact out of control. Think of your independent streak as a superpower that you need to manage. Never let it get control of you. Learn to harness it and use it to make a positive impact on the world. But you'll also have to learn how to listen to others and take their thoughts and feelings into account, and how to respect and work with those in a position of authority - because you won't be the only person on earth with a strong head. Learn how to relate to your parents in a mature way, where you respect their authority and their accumulated wisdom and where they come to respect your decisions and your right to make them.

So rather than just biding your time over the next 1.5 years, use it to master control over your independent streak. Start with your parents - try to show them that while you are independent and strong-minded, you are also mature, respectful and fair. If you treat them like adults, then they will treat you like an adult, which should set you up for a good long-term relationship with them.

 

question: just how much freedom do you have now?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1tSc0UNoVk

John Mellencamp, "Authority Song"