I don't like it when people say "Oh, that's such a minor issue." If you caused the problem, you don't get to decide how big or small it is.

My mother would do this all the time, you know. "Oh, that's no big deal." "You're making a mountain out of a molehill."

Whenever this happened, I would think to myself, "YOU don't get to decide how I feel about this." But I didn't say it out loud, because I knew there was no point in telling a narcissist they're wrong - they're too full of themselves anyway.

Regarding this most recent incident (which I don't think directly inspired me to leave the house, but I digress), my father told me, "You two [referring to my mother and I] don't communicate enough," to which I replied, " 'Communication' requires both sides to be willing to see each other as equals. One-sided demands and assumptions do not count as 'communication'."

In other words, "communication" =/= "Mother is right and you are wrong, now and always." This isn't a conversation - it's oppression. But who cares, right? From HIS point of view, everything would be solved if I would just tolerate it in silence.

But anyway, my mother's idea of "minor" things were, to me, not very "minor" at all... In fact, they built up to the point that they were directly affecting my self-worth. Thus, I decided I was leaving. It made me realize that yes, I'm allowed to go. I'm allowed to run away from this.

Alongside your kind donations, I've received a lot of messages to the effect of "I'm in a similar situation myself" or "Yeah, I'm having issues with my family, too," particularly from people outside Japan. It means a lot to me that you folks would take the time to wish me luck and happiness in the midst of your own personal struggles.

If you Google "toxic parent" or "toxic mother," a lot of personal anecdotes will turn up in the search results, all of them soul-crushingly heartfelt. In the future, I want to help those people the way you folks are helping me... and to that end, I'm going to keep hanging in there.

I'm still desperately seeking donations. Click here to view my shirt stock for sale. Alternatively, you can donate to me at this PayPal page.

Mandatory Purchase List:
Rental Wi-Fi - Contract in place
Roll-up Wooden Carpet (the tatami mats here are ancient and badly damaged) -> Correction: Will buy plain rugs instead - Not Yet Purchased
Washing Machine - Purchased
Rice Cooker - Plan to buy a less expensive one for a few thousand yen
A/C Unit - Purchased!

Less Urgent But Still Need:
Microwave
Curtains (A very kind person donated a set to me already, but I still need more)
Metal Bed Frame