From the archive

Your parents don't always want you to live your own life

And yes, adulthood works both ways. If you declare yourself independent but hand every consequence of your decisions to your parents to pay for, the conversation gets more complicated. The right to choose doesn't sit well with the belief that someone else must clean up after you forever. Your life includes your expenses, mistakes, and inconvenient consequences. Sometimes you'll have to turn down help that comes with too many strings attached. Sometimes you'll have to calmly repeat what you've already said without turning every phone call into a trial. It's hard. But living out someone else's script to avoid uncomfortable conversations isn't cheap either.