r/offmychest•
Ayesh20

Moving out of a Strict Home

So i've never done this before...but i'm really struggling with what to do. I have an amazing family, parents who are loving and have provided me with everything i've ever needed. However, they are strict and quite religious (muslim - pakistani background)...its not the religion that annoys me, its more the culture.

I've always wanted to be independent and free but i've always ignored this urge so that i can keep my parents happy. But now its become harder to ignore. For the last three months i've been living alone to be closer to school while i work Full-Time in a company. I've finally gotten a taste of how happy i can be and now every time i go home on the weekend i'm depressed and back to feeling low. But i have to move back home in 2 weeks because university is finished and i don't know how i can survive that when even staying the weekend seems too long.

I'm not as religious as them, and i believe being a good person is the most important thing...but i know sharing this with them will make them feel like i don't want to be muslim anymore...especially if they find out i've been drinking and i don't wear the clothes they want me to.

Everything always comes with a fight with them...if i want to go out for dinner they reply with "why can't you go out to lunch"...I can't go out without their permission...they don't like me being too social etc. The list continues.

I finally feel like i need to move out...now that i have a full-time job and can afford to move out...but i hate that i will lose them in the process. I've tried sharing my feeling about being constrained, but they think they are being quite lenient.

I'm just sick of lying and hiding behind a false image of who i really am...and i know that doing this will be hard and the possibility of them disowning me or not stopping to bring me back is very high.

Should i just suck it up and try and be happy with the situation i'm in? Confronting this issue and fighting to be independent and to live my life will hurt them greatly and i'm scared of that...but im also scared of what will happen if i don't do this.

Thanks :)

Posted Jun 17, 2017, 10:08 AM UTC

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