[manwithnofriends]

why do people (especially my mother) insist I have to be a completely different person? I do well the way I am now at my second year of uni, I can just attend lectures and take notes and do any assignments that they set. OK I understand that I won't be studying forever and will have to learn to live by myself. or I can just get locked up in a cell for the rest of my life because I'll be guaranteed food and shelter, why not?

[WePow]

Thank you so much for saying this. What you said about the cell has been a thought of mine for at least thirty years. When I was a teen I lifted things from the store because I wanted to be caught and go to jail where I thought I could finally be left alone.
Later I found out they stick other people in the cell with you and that would really stink! So I decided that was not a good option.

But what you shared makes total sense! My advice is to take all those recomendations from mom and others on how you should live and consider them, decide it that is something you want or not, then delete the input. After you make up your mind on what you are going to go with disregard the suggestion any time it is brought up. You can be polite and listen, but you don't have to respond. One of the tricks I learned along the way was the wonderful tool of the word "OK".
For some reason the nuerotypical people accept that as a confirmation. it baffles me on why that is usually the case. If someone answers me with OK I ask them if that is a yes, no, or other. Anyway, try that out if you want.
Bottom line is that you are the boss of you.