| My father ignored our existence for the most part. My mother told me when I was 6 or 7 you can have anything you want, GET IT YOURSELF AND LEAVE ME ALONE. By the time I was 10 I did my own laundry. I started working as a babysitter and on a dairy farm at 12 and I have had only a ONE MONTH break from work since I was 15. I'm now in my 50's. By the time I was 15 I was required to pay for all of my own clothes as well as doctor bills. My parents refused to fill out any financial aid forms for college because they did not want me to go to college so I was ineligible for any grant, loan, scholarship, or work-study. It was survive on my own or not at all. |