I just made a realization that may prove helpful should I once more be faced with accusations regarding my status as family snob. Previously, I had simply argued that I was the only one with standards. Henceforth, my comeback will be that when my sister calls me judgmental, or my dad implies that I'm stuck up, I'll simply remind them that their vision of life has been precisely what I've been running from for the past decade. If I agreed with them or saw any validity in their decisions, I wouldn't have distanced myself so greatly from them both physically and symbolically as I have. They won't take it very well because they're both drama queens that refuse to see beyond their own narrow worlds, but it'll be my next step toward standing up to my family's expectations of mediocrity.

Of course, this ignores the anti-intellectual stance my dad takes. He still views my education as a necessary evil, and thinks that it's ruined me. That stance will prevent either of us from ever understanding each other, because everything that he views as negative in the course my life has taken is what I see as the most important aspects of my formative years.

I'm going to go to bed now and hope that one day I'll stop being so bitter toward my family and their low expectations.