Does your father have a job? Does your mother have a job? Maybe your parents need to sell their house and move into a small apartment that they can afford.

If you've decided that, while you're a student, living at home with the folks makes sense, then own that decision. What have you been doing since you were 17 or 18 years old? By "studying," do you mean you are enrolled in an academic program? Are you actually going to school? It's going to take you another 3 years to finish? So are you working on a doctorate degree - a PhD?

I'm not here to be your inquisitor. You don't have to answer any of these questions. I'm just trying to provoke you to think more rationally. You've painted a sketchy picture of your life, where you are being horribly victimized by the expectations of others. It doesn't add up.

If you want to come on a forum and tell a tale of woe that doesn't sound real, you can sure do that. But you do sound like a desperately unhappy young woman and PC members will feel concerned and genuinely want to help you form hope that you can build a better life for yourself. With the way you are thinking, your life won't be any better 3 years from now, or 13 years from now.

You are not the first son or daughter to decide to help out your parents financially. Here in America, I've known immigrants to this country who've deprived themselves of a lot to send money back to the families they left behind. From the time I was 16, my father expected me to pay toward my room and board. I paid him $200 a month - back when that was a lot more money than it is now. (That's partly why he was so mad when I moved out.)

On the one hand, you seem to say that, if you're going to live in this home with your parents, then you need to contribute to the household finances. On the other hand, you make it very clear that you deeply resent giving the money to your parents. Well - which is it? You think it's fair, or you think it's not fair? Do your parents have a right to expect a contribution from you, since you live there . . . or . . . are your parents exploiting you? Which is it? Because you are saying both of those things. Which is it? Or is it a little bit of both?

Are you doing what you basically have decided to do . . . or . . . are you doing what others expect of you that they have no right to expect? Which?