QUOTE (teresa @ Feb 15 2010, 10:43 AM)
my stepmom is always yelling at me about school and i can't stand it. i was thinking about running away? but i am only 15 years old i need someone to talk to i just live with my stepmom and her boyfriend. what will happens if i run away?
Please, don't run away. At 15 years of age, you are considered a minor, which means that your legal guardian -- your step-mother, I presume -- is responsible for you no matter what. This means that she has to file a missing person's report, which means that the police will look for you. If they find you, they will return you to your step-mother. If they find you living with a friend's family, for example, your friends parent(s) can get in trouble for harboring a runaway and maybe worse. So, you would not be able to stay with friends without them reporting that they have you. If you just ran, you would be in danger in the streets. There are all kinds of things that can happen to 15 year old girl on the streets. Think about it. There are a lot of predators out there looking for young, vulnerable, kids who have run away. I'm not trying to scare you; I'm just telling you what I know that other youngsters - your age -- have experienced when they ran away. Some of them were forced into prositution to make money for someone else, not for them. They were just forced to do stuff. It's like being a slave. Some were forced into the drug trade and became addicted themselves. Some were forced into a life of stealing or survival sex in order to make money to live on.
Another scenario is that you get picked up by the police and they bring you back to your step-mom and because you cannot or won't stay with her, and you have to live in a foster or group home. Either scenario, you are told what to do with severe consequences if you don't comply. In some cases the consequences can be violent. So, running away is not an option.
You do need someone to talk to. I would recommend speaking with a guidance counselor or social worker -- if you have one -- about what is going on between you and your step-mother. School is hard sometimes, but everyone has to go through it. You need school to survive later on when you are finally independent of your step-mom and any other adult. When you are on you own, you will have more freedom. But, until then, you need to try to get help with these problems and talk to someone about things you can do to deal with these conflicts you are having. This is what you need to do, not run away. Running away will just open up a whole new set of problems -- worse problems -- for you. If you want to talk, you can also call us at 800-999-9999.
Sincerely,
Nineline
Running Away, my stepmom
Feb 15 2010, 10:43 AM
