Sometimes doing what’s best for your future means going against your family’s expectations.

So, what would you do if your entire household dismissed your need for quiet, took the door off your only study space, and expected you to keep adapting while you watched your academic focus slip away? Would you stay and endure the stress? Or would you make a bold decision, even if it meant breaking the rules?

In the following story, one medical student deals with this very predicament and decides she’s had enough. Here’s what she did next.

AITA, for deciding to move into university housing without my parents’ approval because I can’t study at home?

I’m a 20-year-old Arab girl studying medicine in a foreign language. I live with my parents and four brothers (ages 10, 13, 17, and 23) in a small house, and we all share the same cramped room.

I literally sleep and study in the same space where they play, sleep, and talk all day long. There’s zero privacy and no quiet time at all.

In my culture, it’s common for families to have many children without thinking about whether each child will have space, quiet, or privacy. Sharing one room with multiple siblings is considered completely normal, and no one seems to see anything wrong with it. But for me, it’s becoming unbearable.

Her parents expect her to just deal with it.

I’ve asked many times if we can at least keep the door closed while I study, but my dad refused. In fact, he ended up removing the door altogether. My mom agrees with him and keeps telling me I should “adapt” like my brothers do.

They’re completely against the idea of me moving into university housing. To them, the idea of privacy or having my own space is a “Western” thing and doesn’t fit with our values.

But from what I’ve seen, in Western cultures, parents do try to give their kids the space they need to succeed. In my case, I feel like I’m expected to suffer in silence because “everyone else lives like this and manages.”

Here’s where she might have messed up.

But the truth is, I can’t manage anymore. My concentration is almost gone, and I’m under so much pressure all the time.

I’ve reached a point where I feel like I’m sacrificing my mental health and education just to meet their unrealistic expectations.

So I’ve decided to move into university housing even if I have to do it without their permission, and even if it’s not entirely “legal” where I live. I just can’t afford to keep struggling like this anymore.

AITA?

Yikes! That’s a lot of people sharing one bedroom.

Let’s see what the fine folks over at Reddit think about her situation.

For this person, it’s not about tradition, it’s about looking out for herself.

Here’s someone who understands what she’s doing but doesn’t want her to get hurt.

This could be a great solution.

Yet another person who’s worried about the consequences.

She needs to think about this.

While she should do what’s right for her, it may be best to get her parents’ approval first.

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