I need help! Runaway and give up? Or thug it out?

Asking Advice

I (21F) want to runaway from home now. Aka move out. I come from a strict asian household but I was born and raised here in the US. I wanted to become a doctor. I graduated in 3 years with a BA in psych. I did that to save money for my family. I plan to study then take the MCAT next spring, then apply. I planned on doing CNA for these two gap years so I can have clinical hours under my belt. CNA is looking bad though since they won't hire for some reason. But I moved back home and now there's so many problems. My parents don't treat me like an adult. They do when it benefits them though.

See, my very last semester of school, my grandpa(mom's side) died in March. Things went downhill from there. My dad has issues with his family, but my grandpa's death caused him to want to reconnect with his side of the family again. Lots of family we have not seen in years. And for good reason. Only, he used my graduation as his excuse to do it. Due to visas, only my aunt came. My aunt who fights with my dad like there's no tomorrow, the whole reason he even came to the US, was to get away from his family. My dad made me prioritize my aunt for my graduation celebrations. Because family is everything etc. I agreed because it was important to him. Then we were supposed to take this "fun" trip to a foreign country to bond and celebrate. Turns out the whole point of the trip was to literally, help her with legal struggles, then the whole entire time she and my dad fought while dragging me with them from office to office, or just leaving me alone and lonely at a mall. Near the end, my aunt muttered something about if she did not receive some legal letter, she would not have come at all. She basically confessed she came to my graduation to use us.

But the damage from that trip was more terrible than it should have been. Because now I have this fear of my family now. I can't see them the same way anymore. It gets worst. I was trying to convince my parents to let me take a trip with my friends out of state where we had it planned and I had my own money to pay for. Yet, I am not allowed to go because I am still a "child". Yet I was in said foreign dragged around offices dealing with adult issues no one my age even knows about and was forced into family drama that I did not even want. I was forced to help family I haven't seen for years and did my dues of respecting elders and prioritizing them despite going through the worst emotional turmoil ever. But the second I chose something for myself to make me happy, now I was seen as an irresponsible person.

It took him three months to get it in his head how much damage that trip had truly done. Due to the apparent normalized behavior of always fighting with his family, he did not think it was a big deal for me. He apologized, but he still won't let me be. He gets mad at the little things I do. He thinks I don't care about anything when really I care so much I have anxiety. Then that anxiety causes me to panic or forget things. For some reason I am a failure in his eyes. He says to just stay at home and to do what I am told to focus on medicine. It feels like I'm going to suffocate here. I physically feel my chest hurting. So many things are adding up. That trip was the big thing and now I am just finding some type of irreparabe damage everywhere. I realized I just want to leave.

First I thought let me just leave with the clothes on my back and whatever money I have and hope a convent takes me in because I know a few places. But then. I have savings. I have my degree, I can find an entry level job and just stick to that. The job market is just terrible so I just have been applying. I'll apply masters somewhere probably next cycle. If I have to pick up a second job I will. Then I'll look for a place. Then I just move out from there.

So my questions are:

  1. Do I still try to become a doctor and just thug it out here at this place I can't bear to call home anymore?
  2. Do I tell them I want to give up now and just focus on Psych stuff?
  3. Do I just keep it all a secret until I get the job and the place then just do it?
  4. Do I try both the full time job and MCAT prep?
  5. Any other advice or thoughts or other comments or just anything you think would be helpful please I beg of you.
  6. Then please, any advice on how moving out is going to be and what I should do.

Posted Aug 12, 2026, 3:25 AM UTC

11
Loading comments…