UnderTheStars, I think your worst hurdle is getting over what your mother has made you believe about yourself. My mother was always comparing me to and embarassing me in front of my cousins. I'm 63 yrs old and I can still hear her say all those negative things to me when I try to step out of the box she put me in.

Somewhere along the way, I became a rebel and set about proving to myself that what I was, was good enough. I was born to live MY OWN life and not what someone else thought I should be.

I always told my kids to never settle for second best. They could be and do anything they wanted to be. I've got a son that owns a bi-coastal business and is sickenly succesful, my oldest has her Master's in teaching and two that were content to finish highschool only. Something I didn't do until after I was married.

YOU can do anything you want and be anything you want. Just don't let your mother's abuse keep you down! It sounds to me that it's your mother that has a mental illness, NOT YOU!

Onward and upward!