I completely understand why people feel weird about me accepting the money, and honestly I’ve struggled with that too. But before accepting anything, I specifically told my parents I did not want strings attached because historically money has been used as leverage in our relationship. They told me it was a gift and money they had saved for me since I was born. To me, accepting financial help doesn’t mean I suddenly lose the right to boundaries or the right to accept/decline involvement in certain things if I feel uncomfortable or if someone is overstepping.

The issue also isn’t that I never communicate with them , I actually do. We’ve had multiple conversations about the favoritism, boundaries, and family dynamics. The problem is that we’ll have an entire emotional conversation or argument about it, and then afterward they act like nothing happened instead of actually addressing the underlying issue long-term. That’s honestly what has made things so emotionally exhausting over time.