my moms kicking me out, what should i do? | Squat the Planet

my moms kicking me out, what should i do?

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smegmabreath

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Im 16, im in L.A. Iv been in and out of institutions, im a junior in highschool with nooo credits, and iv been completly wasted for the last four months. my moms been having talks with me about my "future". Shes pist that iv been doing nothing in school. She asked me what im going to do with my life and I told her I was gonna backpack across the country. Then she told me I should just leave cuz im wasting her time. She wants me gone within a week. Shes looking into emancipating me or giving me to the system. She says its nothing personal but I just have to go. Then she went to her A.A meeting... Iv run away before but iv never been kicked out. Im really not a bad kid I just cant do school anymore. My moms such a bitch. I dont really have anywhere to go, and I dont want to get picked up by the cops for being a minor. I really wasnt planning on being in this situation until i was 18. What the fuck am i gonna do?
 
C

Cush

Guest
well i'd start by changing your username. haha ahh but i jest.

i'd like to start off by saying that you're in idiot for not finishing high school but seeing as there isn't much you can do to rectify that situation i'd say you should make good on your word to see the country. you can find an old external frame backpack for 10 or 15 dollars, put in a sleeping bag, a change of warm clothes, a pocketknife, and some other assorted stuff(if you want an in depth list of what to bring you can PM me or anyone else) and just go. it's a harsh reality but thats all there is to it. make your way to the nearest eastbound interstate, stick out your thumb and start walking. I wish you the best of luck my friend.
 
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smegmabreath

Guest
what should i bring? what are the most suitable clothing? the only thing i know im taking is my guitar... should i really hitch by myself?
 
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Cush

Guest
I'm guessing you've never done any sort of traveling by yourself before so i'm going to make a list of everything you need and why. I'm including everything you could possibly need so don't think i'm insulting your intelligence when i tell you to bring shoes.

first off you're going to need a backpack. Any school backpack will do well and you can strap your sleeping bag to the outside of it.

as far as clothes bring 2 pairs of tough, long pants. you'll need pants that can last and if you want shorts just roll them up.

Bring 2 or 3 T shirts depending on what you want to carry.

the warmest hoody you own. It might take up weight in your bag but it'll be worth it at night.

3 changes of socks/underwear. these get smelly quick so it's good to have extras.

a jacket- something warm, windproof, and waterproof. It'll keep you warm and alive.

good, tough soled shoes-converse all stars work OK in short distances but if you're going to be walking cross country you're going to want a pair of boots that will be able to hold up.

a warm hat-most heat loss happens through your head. a warm hat will raise your body temperature by a couple degrees.

gloves-your hands will get cold on the road and eventually you're going to have to get something out of your pack. you'll be glad you have them

one or two big bandanas. they're super useful. You can wear it around your head to keep sweat/hair out of your eyes, you can tie it in front of your mouth/nose if it gets dusty, they have a million and one uses. I never leave home without one.

a pocketknife. not some single blade knife. try to get your hands on something that has a sharp blade, a can opener, a bottle opener, and maybe a screwdriver or two.

food. I don't know what sort of stuff you have available to you but when you head out take only things that need no refrigeration and that won't go bad too soon. Get used to scrounging for food because full meals don't present themselves too often. you need to find them.

at least a half gallon of water. I always carry 2 nalgene bottles when i'm out. dehydration is a bitch.

a deck of cards. you're going to get very bored and you'll spend endless hours playing solitare. if you don't know how already I suggest you learn a couple versions.

a sleeping bag. don't bring some pansy-assed sleeping bag. bring a good one. god knows you'll be using it enough.

some form of ID or another. hopefully you wont get picked up by the cops but having something to prove you are who you say you are will smooth things over for you greatly.

wallet. try not to travel with a huge ammount of cash on you in case you lose it or something but traveling with no money at all is just stupid.

You can choose for yourself but i keep a fork, a butter knife, and a spoon on my keys. I sawed them off so the handles are short and i drilled a hole and put all three on a key ring. this way i always am ready to eat.

the most important advice that i can give you is to tell your mom you love her. the first time i left home i did it and the last thing i told my dad was that i hoped he died. within 2 days i was miserable because the only thing that i could think about was the fact that that might have been the last thing I told him. I know shit is tense between you and your mom but she's still your mom and she still loves you. You've got an amazing oppurtunity to see this great, beautiful country in a way most people never will. Just because you're being forced to doesn't mean you cant enjoy the trip. This will be something that will give you stories to tell for the rest of your life. I wish you nothing but the best of luck in starting the first real adventure of your life.

may your feet stay ever warm
-TL
 

Bendixontherails

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I ain't gonna tell you where to go, that's between you and the road, but I will say this..."GO".

I'm with Cush on the list, but I'd make one change. Water! water is your life out there. wind and sun suck it out of you mad quick, so bring lots. a good third of my pack weight is water. Myself, I go for at least a gallon a day. that doesn't mean you have to carry thirty gallons with you for the month, just be able to find more when you run out. and you will run out...
Other than that, you'd be suprised just how little it really takes to keep body and soul together.

ride safe, eyes UP!
 
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aneurysmamanda

Guest
you know i hate to be the devils advocate here, but i think your mom may have a point.

of course i think theirs nothing wrong with traveling and backpacking as a future because i have the same plan, but honestly, nothing bothers me more then when i hear about people not appreciating their education. There are so many people in the world who are not entitled to learn, its to bad your not going to take advantage of this opportunity. Secondly, if you've been wasted for 4 months straight, you may want to maybe follow your mom to her A.A. meetings. That is really bad for your body and your life overall, believe me been their done that. Nothing wrong with occasional, but every day for that long of a period, man...that sucks.

My best advice would have to be to try and stake it out with your mom for at least 2 more years. Believe me when i say this, things are more likely to change if you two talk it out.

i've been in a similar situation and i decided to stick it out for 2 more years and i'm 18 in like 3 months and i'm planning to stick it out here for a little longer then i ever planned.

but if you decide to hit up the road, all i have to say is good luck, and keep your head up.
 
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Snail

Guest
If you've been kicked out and have wanted to go on the road then maybe this is a sign that your traveling days need to start! Go for it. And if not, and school isnt your thing, get your GED and try to make the best of life. Just get organized, decide what your first step to the rest of your life is and keep progressing step by step. Life is a journey, its full of learning, its like the learning martial arts, you cant have partial heart, you gotta give your all dawg, get your back off the wall. (if anyone caught that dead prez refereance then your kick ass.):cheer:
 
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Richard

Guest
I think its really unfair for anyone to say that dropping out of school is a mistake and that taking such a measure is not appreciating an "education." Everyone is different and sometimes such an option can be the best one available to a person. If you don't want to be at school, and you have no credits, its probably only logical that you get the fuck out. School only gets worse the longer you're there, not to mention we all know that its not really even about education. Of course, I know some people who regret getting out of school early, but for everyone of those people I know at least two who think dropping out was the best decision they ever made. Like I said, everyone is different, just do what your heart tells you to do. No one else can tell you what is right for yourself.
 
aint choo got no friends ? Go crash with them. If not, decide wether its really necessary for you to go.. i dont ts sthink she can get rid fo you as easy as it sounds. Your 16, she cant kick you out.. Decide wether tis worth being outside 24/7 (or almost 24/7) with no place to chill out on demand, or making things workout for the both of you. Im sad i didnt get a proper education, the schools i went to i feel were very very inadequate . I am glad i left, shamed i ddint do somthing with those 4 years.

cheers, hope teh best.
 
aint choo got no friends ? Go crash with them. If not, decide wether its really necessary for you to go.. i dont ts sthink she can get rid fo you as easy as it sounds. Your 16, she cant kick you out.. Decide wether tis worth being outside 24/7 (or almost 24/7) with no place to chill out on demand, or making things workout for the both of you. Im sad i didnt get a proper education, the schools i went to i feel were very very inadequate . I am glad i left, shamed i ddint do somthing with those 4 years.

cheers, hope teh best.
 
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wrkingclassoi

Guest
while i don't know all there is to know about the situation, i would encourage you to try to work it out with your mom. sometimes in life, your family is all you've got; it's nice to have that to fall back on. most 16 year olds don't get along with their parents. most of the time it's because the parents are still making decisions for them based on what they think is right. but i have definately seen cases in where the parents really didn't give a shit about their kids.

so if it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out. do what you gotta do. but if you gotta go out on your own, try to keep a positive mental attitude. you might want to think twice about being fucked up for months straight. living on the streets isnt for everyone, and if a few years down the road you find out that you don't want to be there anymore, it's gonna be a real bitch to change your life if you gotta fight addiction. the last thing this world needs is another strung-out old dude sitting on the sidewalk who couldn't do anything if he wanted to.

so...

have fun, be safe, and enjoy every minute of it.

best wishes.
 
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trangus

Guest
yeah, man. ed is kewl, but overrated. u can do without it if ur smart enough to educate urself. i been travellin like 10 yrs on off, and 3 and a half steady in my pack. im on vancouver island, think rainy ass, not too cold, west coast. all i got is my sleeping bag in a garbage bag in my pack, and all th clothes i wear daily. if ur goin cold and/or wet places, like north of la, wool is worth double its weight in gold. double wool top to bottom, back in newfieland they say, itll keep u warm and dry even when its cold and wet. its awesome. kinda heavy, but oh well. i usually carry a tarp and rope for the bush when im in the middle of nowhere, but, i really like squattin cities. tonsa fun and dumpster divin is a must have skill. now u probly wont wanna do this ur whole life, like for me im gettin a bit older and im wantin to slow down a bit(sometimes even the most hardcore crusty train girls wanna slow down sometimes) but i wouldnt trade the road and street education for the world. so have fun in all u do, keep a smile ion ur face, and even the toughest see u bein happy and its hard not to love happiness.
yeah! squat the whole fuckin planet, man!!!!!!!11
 
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Memphispunk88

Guest
I agree, you should have finished high school or at least gotten your GED. The GED is really easy and it only costs you like 25 bucks in some states.
 

iamcrkt

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I dropped out of high school in 1999, and recently got my GED. I have never looked back on dropping out and said to myself, "Gee, that was really stupid---you REALLY needed that education." I didn't need the education, everything I learned-I tought myself. Now, not everyone can teach themselves and have the capacity to remember everything, soak it all up; but if you think you can then try it!!!

It is really depressing looking at these posts that are telling this kid to stay in school. What this kid needs is NOT another authority figure(s) but friends who can encourage him to do what he feels is best for himself. If he feels he needs to leave and get out in the world, by golly *DO IT*. Don't sit back and wait and eventually get sucked into a boring job and life. Go out and do it, open your mind up... READ all day, teach yourself. One of my friends has always had a good saying, and I can attest to it: "BETTER LIVING THROUGH FREIGHT TRAVEL"... I want to stress to you... leaving without graduating is perfectly fine but make sure you continue to learn and grow without the system! Don't fall into a rut and turn into a scumbag (don't drink all day). Keep your mind healthy and your body too, both are linked, obviously.

Shame on anyone here for trying to convince someone else to do something that they don't want to do!

If you need to talk to someone or need some tips on anything then send me a message.
 

TBone

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iamcrkt wrote:
Don't fall into a rut and turn into a scumbag (don't drink all day).
Thats the first thing that came to mind when I read that you have been fucked up for 4 months straight. Be sober or at least close to it when you make this decision. Do not take this (and I'm not accusing you of it) as a chance to go out and get fucked up whenever you want and have nothing or no one to answer to. Better yourself as a person through educating yourself and gaining life experiences and do what you want to do with your life. Your not going to be able to do any of that with a bottle glued to your hand. Best of luck on whatever you decide.
 
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Mouse

Guest
get your g.e.d.

get a job. at least a few hours a week so you'll prevent yourself from falling down into a drunken stouper every night. and a "job" doesn't have to mean something that will make you turn into a slave. find a cool place to work. and place that will respect you and will fullfill you. you live in LA there's ton's of options for you there.

take a few community college classes (don't say a fucking word about "it costs too much" if you get emancipated you can get MAD assitance and loans that only take $50 a month to pay off over 30 years) this will b e on your terms. you can pick and choose what YOU want to learn and actually get credit for it when you're done the class.

then maybe she won't kick you out after all.

if you still want to travel aftering having TRIED - because face it, you're not giving a fucking inch worth of effort right now - then do it. But at lest by then you'll have a few classes under your belt and maybe a few new options will be opened up to you by then.

I'm not by any means saying never travel... an dI'm not saying you need to go to school... but speaking from my own experience, the drinking and slacking off will only come back to bite you in the ass.

i graduated h.s. and hated my life. decided to take all ym money and get the fuck outta dodge and start traveling. Well, I had a blast. but I dug myself deep into alcholism and put a ton of painfull stress onto my family. I will travel again, but this time only AFTER I achieve an A.S. at community college and get some fall back money saved up.

I know people always say shit like "live for today!" "live each day like it's your last" blah blah BUT if you really did that imagine what you'd wake up to the next day? haha. it's hard to say but I know it'd be shit.

Post edited by: Mouse, at: 2007/02/15 02:00
 
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Tamah Go Das

Guest
Whats up Sid! You already know alot about what I think but heres another angle.Your an intelligent person and the hard drugs and drinking are just going to debilitate you from being everything you potentialy can be especially since your mind and body is still developing - if you quit now you wont halft to suffer being mentally and emotionally underdeveloped like I and so many others are.Fuck this worlds public school system,its good to have a normal so-called education as you can dovetail that knowledge to do great things but dont feel too bad - educate yourself by reading and learning about what interests you in life not what some mainstream dumbshits tell you to learn.Knowledge is power and eventually youll find your nitch.And of course to do whatever you do in life for Krsna will spiritually elevate you and free you from the stringent laws of karma but thats a whole different subject I wont get into.
 

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