Online House Hunting

Are my parents being fair?

I'm a spoiled child. I will admit that upfront. I will tell you that I get almost anything I want, and that I'm lucky to have what I do. My mother is the only one who works in my household and she supports us well. By support I mean that we have 8 TVs, 4 computers, and an iPhone each. So we're pretty well off. I am a 17 year old senior in high school and going to graduate in less than two months. They refuse to contribute to my college fund because my grades are not up to their standards. (I have a 4.3 overall GPA on a 5.0 scale and a 28 on the ACT) They do not have any money saved for me and I am expected to pay my way on loans unless I want to go to DeVry university (my mom works for DeVry and I therefore get in free,) or the local community college and nothing else. If I was interested in ANYTHING DeVry offered, I would go there in a heartbeat. I understand that free is the best price for college, and it's hard to pass that up. But my dream is to be a high school art teacher, and I just can't do that with DeVry. Credits from DeVry won't transfer, so I can't just go there for a year or two to get the gen-eds I may or may not need. My parents do offer me one source of income, however. I am allowed to get a job this year if I so choose, but it is very hard to find a job with the economy. I've been looking for months, and my one prospect fell through. The source of income that they offer is cleaning and maintaining the house. They pay me four dollars for every hour I vacuum, dust, and clean up after pet messes. Every day, I come home to find at least 2 hours worth of work for me to do,but some days I'm just too tired from putting everything I can into my classes. So, with that background information, here is my question. I recently made three very large and very costly mistakes. One: In a rush to get to school after some conflict with my parents, I forgot to open the garage door before backing out. This ruined the garage door which needed to be replaced. The second was that I dropped my iPhone and cracked just the glass covering of the screen. It still works, but the glass is cracked very badly. The final mistake- and what I consider the biggest- is that I was at fault in a small car accident that caused no damage to either car. This did, however, leave a hefty ticket. Now, finally, my question: Is it fair for my parents to ask for me to pay for all three of these mistakes while paying me only four dollars an hour? And expecting me to have enough time to work off these debts while being a full time high school student with a full schedule and two AP classes? Also, I know that I can't expect my parents to pay for college, but are they being fair in that respect as well? I just think that my grades maybe aren't so bad, and I do try my best. How would you feel in this situation? I'm sorry my question is so long. Thank you in advance for any answers you can give. I appreciate every one, no matter what you have to say.

Public Comments

1. yup you did the crime, u pay the time or money wow bad things do come in threes!
2. TECHNICALLY NO ITS UP TO YOU BUT THEY THINK THEY KNOW WHATS BEST FOR YOU. I THINK EVERY ONE WILL GO THROUGH THIS THIS WITH THERE FAMILY AND NO IM NOT YELLING I JUST FOR GOT TO TAKE CAPS LOCK OFF. but they might not be depending on how you look at it
3. bitch
4. Hello I am dan peterman by name, the M D of dan loans Venture , i am a Reputable, Legitimate & an accredited money Lender.I give out loans to individuals and companies in need of financial assistance.Do you have a bad credit or are you in need of money to pay bills? You can use this medium to solve all your problems as i render reliable beneficiary assistance and will be glad to offer you a loan at low interest rate. Services Rendered include: *Refinance *Home Improvement *Inventor Loans *Auto Loans *Debt Consolidation *Horse Loans *Line of Credit *Second Mortgage *Business Loans *Personal Loans *International Loans Please write back if interested. Upon Response, you'll be mailed a Loan application form to fill. (No social security and no credit check, 100% Guaranteed!) I Look forward permitting me to be of service to you. You reach us via e-mail:danpeterman13@yahoo.com
5. Good day everyone. This is Scott Spencer { Micro finance Foundation Company} will give Loan to company and individually if you have a bad credit you can contact us at via scottspencer43@yahoo.com you must have the loan without any stress, we offer loan to Asia Europe Australia and America Africa also, and will treat customer very well they are free to make their opinion how they want their loan our interest rate is cheap and affordable, you will receive it faster just a little time difference from western union and money Gram ,will don’t waste client time because as they receive it they recommend more customers to us. Applicant Full Name: …………………………………………….. * Applicant Contact Address:…………………………………………… * Phone No:……………………………………… * Country:………………………………………… * Age:…………………………………………….. * Marital Status:……………………………… * Amount Required as Loan:………………………………………………………. *Proposed Terms/Duration of Loan: *Annual Income:…………………………………………. *Occupation:……………………………………………….
6. You sound like a good kid, who YES, has made some mistakes that your parents are having you learn from. By making you pay for your mistakes by whatever means are available to you they are teaching you responsibility. As an adult you need to pick up the pieces of whatever life throws your way, whether is it by chance or mistake, and you cannot expect ANYONE to be there to help you out. I was on my own financially at 19 years old, my parents would only pay for college after I proved I wasn't going to waste another $45k. I worked full-time, part-time, attended community college classes full-time at night and maintained my own apartment, car insurance, car payment, cell phone, electric, cable, groceries, etc etc etc... I got into trouble with credit cards as a naive young "adult" and was too proud to take the help they offered. Now my poor credit is hurting my possibilities to buy a home with my husband and child, but to be honest, I think I have learned an even more valuable lessen... Things have improved dramatically because of my own self-discipline. I should be eligible for a home loan in about 1 more year. Mind you that my college also consisted of paying my own tuition for several years and showing good grades, taking out loans that I just now paid off, paying for ALL of my books at $400 per semester, parking costs $190 per year, etc etc etc. You parents aren't being unfair, and in fact they are giving you more than you realize because they are teaching you to be a responsible adult. My sister never goofed up like I did so they handed her everything. College was paid for, she has always had a cell phone, car insurance, her car payment is covered, a EZ Pass for tolls, a gas card, so forth and so on. She is 24 years old with 2 bachelor's degrees, living at home with Dad, and only worked a total of 1 year in her life. She is living off the unemployment from the 8 months she was employed at $12/hour job (with TWO bachelor degrees on honors)...