My Mom Pressured Me To Take A Leave From Harvard Because My Sister Struggled To Finish School. I Refused — So They Told Me To Move Out. Years Later, When My Mom Faced A Serious Health Diagnosis, She Asked Me For Help With Treatment. I Only Said:

Money had always been tight, but now it felt like the walls were inching in.

I saw it in the way she talked about the college fund, too.

It went from your college money to that little cushion we have to what’s left in that account in a matter of months.

I noticed, but I didn’t know what to do with that feeling.

It wasn’t like I could fly home on a random Tuesday and audit her finances.

The first real sign that something had shifted came when I tried to book a ticket home for Thanksgiving.

I was hunched over my laptop in the dorm common room comparing flight prices, trying to find something that didn’t eat the entire balance of my checking account.

Even the cheapest option was a stretch.

I called my mom, expecting the usual conversation where she’d complain about prices and then say, “Don’t worry, I’ll cover half. We’ll make it work.”

Instead, when I told her the amount, she let out this short, annoyed laugh.

Ava, I can’t do that right now.

She said, “Do you know how much I’m juggling over here?”

I hesitated.

I thought we were setting aside money for travel.

You said,

“Yeah, well, that was before the rent went up and the car needed repairs and your sister’s hours got cut.”

She snapped.

I’m doing the best I can.

If you want to come home, figure it out.

You’re the genius, remember?

The word genius didn’t sound like a compliment.

It sounded like a charge she was filing against me.

Maybe I’ll stay here this year, I said quietly.

Lots of people don’t go home for Thanksgiving.

The dining hall is doing a dinner.

It could be fine.

There was a pause on the line, a small silence that felt heavier than all the shouting from our previous fight.

“Wow,” she said finally. “First semester at Harvard and you’re already too good for Thanksgiving with your family.”

“That’s not what I said,” I protested. “I just don’t want to put us in a worse spot. Flights are expensive, Mom. And you literally just said you can’t help.”

I said I’m tired.

She shot back.

I said I’m doing my best, but you hear what you want.

It’s been 3 months and already you talk like you’re visiting from another planet.

I swallowed hard.

I’m trying to be practical.

You’re trying to make excuses.

She said,

“Fine, stay there.

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