I know I said I need their approval, but the thing is...I can move out if I wanted to...it's completely my decision to buy whatever car I want even if it's not practical...I can take out a loan for $22k and go to beauty school if I wanted to...I can live wherever I'd like, whether it's in California with or without a roommate or with my grandparents or in Oregon or even Paris if I really wanted to.

It's not that I need their approval, but as I've said before, with my history of hospitalization and what I've gone through to get to be where I am...it's still very difficult for me to make big decisions. Finding a long-term, FT career, for example, is a huge decision for me. My mom said during the past couple years I've made a major shift in my critical thinking and my determination to find a life long career, and my parents and I talk a lot about my strengths and weaknesses and career options. I also go to therapy to discuss how to improve in my career, which starts with managing the bipolar. But my parents didn't just say "You can't have a job we don't approve of", but if I said, "Oh, what about this job?" they would say, "Well, you're good at this, this, and this, so it will play to these strengths, but you also have trouble with this, this, and this, so it's something to think about." But like I said, it's very difficult for me to make important decisions. I do doubt my capabilities and my critical thinking and I need to ask if I'm making a wise decision. I'd like to say I am very smart and capable in most areas, and my parents do let me make my own decisions, but if it's a major decision such as taking on more responsibility, I want to be sure it's smart and realistic and I when I talk with my parents it's usually a sit-down discussion and it's open conversation, and their advice has never failed me and I trust them and that they want the best for me and to be successful. I hope that makes sense.