2BContinued
šø
- Feb 18, 2026
- 6
I'm an Afghan immigrant, and I'm the only one in my family who speaks English. I'm the one carrying the family at the moment, handling all the legal documents and other issues. I take care of my two nephews, look for a job, go to school, and deal with constant verbal and physical abuse from my family. My parents argue all the time, and I'm stuck in the middle.
My physical health and mental health are degrading by the day. I can't even get enough sleep anymore. My parents are constantly putting everything on me, and my dad tries to convince me every day to drop school and get a ful time job. He argues with me constantly about it.
I wana kill myself, but I still have them in mind. I don't know if I should let go because they don't have anyone else. My brother is a disabled 30-year-old, and my dad can't work anymore because he's 60. My mom is too old and incompetent, and my other siblings are married and living in other countries.
I'm so tired of living a life that orbits around them. I don't want to take care of them anymore. I want to have my own life, my own dreams, my own future. But I feel trapped, like I'm suffocating under the weight of their expectations and needs. I dunno know what to do.
Every morning I wake up with this crushing weight on my chest, knowing another day of the same BS awaits me. I can't remember the last time I ate a meal without someone yelling or crying at the table. My teachers have noticed how exhausted I look, how my grades are slipping, but how can I explain that I'm translating legal documents at 2 AM or comforting my nephews after they've witnessed another fight over the stupidest thing?
I feel rage building up inside me everytime I walk past the school campus and see other students my age laughing, studying together, planning their futures. They look so free, so unburdened. I feel this sharp pain in my chest because that was supposed to be me. Instead, I'm translating eviction notices, taking my disabled brother to doctor's appointments, and trying to explain to my dumb piece of a shit father why education matters while he calls me selfish for wanting something for myself.
And now, on top of everything, we're overdue on rent and facing eviction. I'm the one who has to find housing for all of us.
The nights are the worst. That's when the thoughts really consume me. I imagine just ending it all, the sweet release from this constant pressure. But then I see my nephews sleeping, and I wonder who would protect them from this. Who would make sure they have food? Who would help them with their homework? I don't want them living the same life I lived as a kid, constantly having to worry about their parents financial issues..
I never asked to be the responsible one. I never asked to be their slave. I was just a child myself when we came here, but somehow I became the adult while the actual adults remained unwilling to adapt.They just keep asking for more. I din't know what to do anymore.
My physical health and mental health are degrading by the day. I can't even get enough sleep anymore. My parents are constantly putting everything on me, and my dad tries to convince me every day to drop school and get a ful time job. He argues with me constantly about it.
I wana kill myself, but I still have them in mind. I don't know if I should let go because they don't have anyone else. My brother is a disabled 30-year-old, and my dad can't work anymore because he's 60. My mom is too old and incompetent, and my other siblings are married and living in other countries.
I'm so tired of living a life that orbits around them. I don't want to take care of them anymore. I want to have my own life, my own dreams, my own future. But I feel trapped, like I'm suffocating under the weight of their expectations and needs. I dunno know what to do.
Every morning I wake up with this crushing weight on my chest, knowing another day of the same BS awaits me. I can't remember the last time I ate a meal without someone yelling or crying at the table. My teachers have noticed how exhausted I look, how my grades are slipping, but how can I explain that I'm translating legal documents at 2 AM or comforting my nephews after they've witnessed another fight over the stupidest thing?
I feel rage building up inside me everytime I walk past the school campus and see other students my age laughing, studying together, planning their futures. They look so free, so unburdened. I feel this sharp pain in my chest because that was supposed to be me. Instead, I'm translating eviction notices, taking my disabled brother to doctor's appointments, and trying to explain to my dumb piece of a shit father why education matters while he calls me selfish for wanting something for myself.
And now, on top of everything, we're overdue on rent and facing eviction. I'm the one who has to find housing for all of us.
The nights are the worst. That's when the thoughts really consume me. I imagine just ending it all, the sweet release from this constant pressure. But then I see my nephews sleeping, and I wonder who would protect them from this. Who would make sure they have food? Who would help them with their homework? I don't want them living the same life I lived as a kid, constantly having to worry about their parents financial issues..
I never asked to be the responsible one. I never asked to be their slave. I was just a child myself when we came here, but somehow I became the adult while the actual adults remained unwilling to adapt.They just keep asking for more. I din't know what to do anymore.
