As children grow up, the things that they want to do will change and mature.

What would you do if your mom was demanding that you keep volunteering somewhere even though it is not something you want anymore.

That is the situation the young woman in this story is in, so she wants to demand that she no longer have to volunteer.

Check it out.

AITA for refusing to do volunteer work for my mom?

I (17M) regularly volunteer at the library that my mom (49F) works at, and I’ve been doing this since sixth grade.

I was more or less forced into it as a child.

The things I most commonly volunteer for are “teen programs” (free activities for kids from 6th grade through high school, things like murder mystery events or video game tournaments).

The room I work in is loud and echoey, and the kids attending these programs are often rude to people like me.

I’m autistic and an environment like this is hostile for me, and I’d usually leave these programs drained and overstimulated.

With all that being said, I never put up a fight to do this stuff.

My mom told me volunteer hours would help me get into a good college, and she’s always been kind of a “my way or the highway” type of parent.

So, I sucked it up and did them anyways.

Things change as people grow up.

But as I’ve been getting older, it’s been posing more of an issue in my life.

I have a part time job and she had me ask for days off in order to volunteer.

I also noticed I was always the oldest at these events, with even most of the other volunteers being middle schoolers.

Recently I started trying to get a second job in order to make enough money to fly my long distance girlfriend down to my state this summer.

I knew this was going to be a scheduling conflict with volunteering, and decided to tell my mom this morning.

As I was telling her I had a job interview later, she asked if I could still make it to the program happening tonight.

I knew this interview would take a lot out of me (again, I’m autistic, high stress social situations are exhausting), so even though the times didn’t overlap, I explained I’d be too tired and would prefer to take the night off.

I’m sure she would like that, but it isn’t up to her.

She got a bit more insistent and said “I’d really like to see you there.”

It was then that I finally told her I didn’t want to volunteer anymore.

I need to focus on making money and preparing to be an adult.

I’ve already been accepted into a good college, and I also explained the grievances i had with the environment at the library.

After I said this, she blew up at me.

She said she was disappointed that I wasn’t okay with being uncomfortable for a little while in order to give back to my community.

She said “life isn’t always going to be sensory friendly” which I know.

But that doesn’t mean i always want to put myself in a draining environment when I’m not getting anything out of it.

I explained that to her and she said I was selfish.

Mom needs to let this go.

She brought up the fact that I quit all of my extracurriculars in middle school (I was extremely depressed at the time and couldn’t handle them), and said she thought I had no aspirations or hobbies.

This is not true, and frankly hurt a lot.

I talk to her about my hobbies all the time.

I guess I’m just worried I’m being selfish for not wanting to volunteer my time at the library.

So, AITA?

She is not out of line at all, mom needs to realize that she is growing out of this volunteer job.

Read on to see what the people in the comments have to say about it.

Yup, mom is just wrong.

Yes, people should be allowed to be selfish sometimes.

This is a good question.

Yes, what does mom expect?

This person says mom shouldn’t be using it against her.

Mom needs to let her grow up.

Everyone has to sooner or later.

If you liked this post, you might want to read this story about a teacher who taught the school’s administration a lesson after they made a sick kid take a final exam.