I don’t get along well with my mother. As I have aged, it’s only gotten worse. The older I get the more I want to speak my mind and the more she insists that I’m being a smart a**. I don’t think I am, and if that’s the way I come off, it’s unintentional. My mother always puts me down. My grades are never high enough. I don’t dress girly enough. I don’t go out enough or I don’t spend enough time with the family. She always tries to change me into her “perfect daughter” but I refuse to conform. Not that I want to be rebellious. No, I just want her to see that there is no such thing as perfect and I don’t intend to bend over backwards to achieve perfection. No matter how well I do at something the response is “that’s nice BUT you need to do better.” I know that she is trying to encourage me to do better, but I think she needs to understand that sometimes all your child needs is a “you’re doing great.” No but’s. That’s all. It’s gotten to a point where, if asked, I wouldn’t be able to say I love my mother. While she’s always been available to support me finically and give me everything I could ever need, she still doesn’t give me the treatment I desire. There have been fights where I am “no longer her daughter” and she won’t speak to me for weeks at a time. I have tried everything to get her to listen. I tried talking to her myself (The response: you don’t appreciate me enough! I do EVERYTHING for you!) I’ve tried a family confrontation (The response: Just listen to your mom. You know how she is.) I tried making a compromise (The response: You’re not trying hard enough. *meanwhile she made no effort to change herself*.) I broke down in school *after another fight we had* and when I spoke to the counselor we discussed family therapy (The response: You think I’M CRAZY! Why can’t you just talk to me? You can talk to a damn stranger, but not your own mother!) She wonders why I am “cold” and “distant” and “unaffectionate” when she herself is the reason I find it difficult to open up with my emotions to anyone. I can’t stand this confined and frankly unstable environment anymore. I just want to runaway.