This post is called Home Truths (or when you realise that you and your parents have completely different opinions about effectively everything important in adult life)

It started, fairly innocuously, with a passport. I think I am perfectly within my rights to take my passport as and when I please to visit my girlfriend in France. It just so happened that my mother needed some ID for me to set me up as a trustee on their investment bond. I brought it home with me.

The problems began.

You see, the viewpoint of my parents is that this year, I am in Oxford, and Cath is in France. I don't need my passport again this term. I should just be strong. Wait a fucking minute? I should be strong? How is this hard on me? I'm in a grown up, full time, long term relationship. It's all about sacrifice - putting yourself out sometimes because the other person is having a hard time. You share these things. It doesn't affect my work, it doesn't affect my sleep and it doesn't affect anybody else.

Turns out my Dad was in favour of keeping my passport. Counterpoint: I'm twenty, it's my passport, you'll have nothing. Retort: You're still dependent on us, so there should be a lot more give and take. Fuck me. Apart from the fact that sounds like a threat, it goes against what I think parenting is about: its not a "I'll do this if you do that" type trade-off. Parents do not give and take, they fucking give and should expect nothing. I'm grateful. I appreciate what you have done for me. That's the sort of parent I hope to be.

I also explained what I want to do with my life after university. I explained how doing a masters gives me access to more jobs, and that I really want to do one. I was explaining how the Civil Service seemed like an excellent place to work, where they promote debate and intellectual thought and direct use of economics in all work. You enter as an assistant and can train to be an full, independent economist within a couple of years. There are promotions up to advisory level. First question: "How much does it pay?". I haven't asked that question myself, I don't want to know. I did know this time because it was presented to us during the presentation: £55-60,000 a year by the time you've been promoted up to advisor.

It was announced just before I left this morning that my parent's think I'm selling myself short, that all the money that has gone into my education and will continue to go into my education is for nothing, that I won't earn enough to justify it. How about considering more important things than money? How about feeling fufilled as a intelligent human being? How about, crazy as it sounds, doing some work that actually might help other people?

So, for all those keeping count, that's relationships, family, work and money (including the long-going student overdraft debate). I find it staggering that the people who mould you from a young age don't represent the way I think in the slightest way. I think Rage Against the Machine put it best when they said: fuck you I won't do what you tell me.

Fuck you I won't do what you tell me.

Fuck you I won't do what you tell me.

Fuck you I won't do what you tell me.

FUCK YOU I WON'T DO WHAT YOU TELL ME.

MOTHERFUCKERS.