Getting into university in the UK depends highly on your A-level exams.
Redditor @cheeckypanda625 is studying STEM subjects and hopes to get A*A*A*A on their exams, which require a lot of studying. They want to know if prioritizing their grades over paying rent is bad.
Here's The Story
So, OP wants to study a medicine course at a good university in the UK, and in order to do that, they need to score high on their A-level exams. This means all of the time they're not in class, they're studying.
For their 18th birthday, OP's stepdad, who is “quite Christian and conservative,” told OP they'd need to start paying $100 a month to live in “his” house. According to OP, they're a constant reminder of how their mother is a “non-virgin, divorced woman” and it's their stepdad's goal to “make their life harder for being born.”
OP's aunt — their mom's sister — isn't fond of the stepdad, and has offered a rent-free room to them so they can study for their A-level exams without worrying about money. OP says they've been trying to save their money from their last job so they can move out properly in September when university starts. So, OP took her up on the offer, even though she lives an hour from OP's parents.
Now OP is getting flak for choosing an option that works best for them. According to OP, their mother keeps crying because they are leaving already. Their stepdad can't understand why OP is moving out. According to OP's step dad, he's just treating OP “like a tenant to prepare [them] for the real world.” OP's fine with that; they're practicing their right to leave a place they no longer live.
But according to OP's stepdad, OP is just “taking resources” from their aunt because “they're too entitled to pay rent.”
Now OP is wondering if doing what's best for them makes them an AH.
Reddit Decides
@little500HondaCBR thinks OP should ‘crush their exams.'
NTA. Actions, meet consequences. Your stepdad tried to flex on you…and his powerplay backfired.
Your mother may be crying, but she LET HIM DO IT. That house is half hers, and so is the decision to charge you rent. She is not blameless here. Your aunt's “resources” are none of your stepdad's F'ing business.
OP, move out without another guilt pang, okay? Work hard to crush your exams, and be super-considerate and make yourself very useful in your aunt's household (shovel the walk, do dishes, walk the dog, whatever is needed — and if you don't know, ASK). Please don't come back to this house to visit if your stepdad is home. Ever. Your mom can darn well find her way to your aunt's house WITHOUT Mister Flex on her arm.
God bless your aunt for sheltering you from stepdad and his nonsense! And don't feel obliged to invite him to your graduations, either.
@katz2360 totally agrees.
“Definitely NTA. Can’t imagine asking you to pay rent while you’re still in school.”
In The End
Raising children to be adults takes on all forms of interpretation as children grow. Clearly, Reddit thinks OP should focus on their A-levels. Would you have taken the aunt up on her offer?
Read the full story here.
This article is produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.