<p>legendofmax: i say you turn your whole situation into a movie and the box offices will fill your bank account. jk i didnt mean to offend, i didnt read everyones post but i do agree with getting outside advice or help. this will help you not feel alone, vent your feelings, and if a real person that you can confide in is watching this unfold, they can give better advice as your life progesses.
as far as funding college goes, as long as you do well in college, you can pretty much take out loans beyond what you need. for example, i am dirt poor and i dont intend on staying that way and my parents wont give me a cent towards college, so tuition is 18,000, about half is paid by grants and scholarships that dont have to be paid back and the other half is through federal loans, student loans, etc. based on your situation, you may be eligible for a little extra, to make ends meet. plus if you are going to live on campus you will have a meal card (most likely). you cant function on no food, so you wont really have to worry about feeding yourself. if you cant afford a computer or you dont have one, you can always go to computer labs on campus, or the library. they are usually open really late too. you should also have some kind of printing priveledges, so you wont have to worry about ink or paper expenses. hmmmm what else. sometimes campuses have a shuttle or a cruiser, where they leave campus at a certain time and hit up places like grocery stores, target/walmart, etc. and other times theres one that even goes to downtown bars so you can have a good time, not worry about driving there AND you have a DD to get you right back to campus!
as far as your mom goes, some people lose grip of life and now is not a good time for your mother to be acting the way she is but there really isnt anything you can do except worry about YOU and YOU alone! best of luck, it seems like you have a lot of support here.
i leave you with this: when in doubt, ask!!!!!!!!!!</p>
<p>Thank you all for your help... I will try to keep this in mind, but I'm still conflicted</p>