Definition: Given a real-life anecdote of a complex ethical situation, generate a suitable title that describes the main event/root cause of the situation. Imagine that the given text is a social media post, and you have to write the title of the post, so the users can decide to read the main text or not.
Input: This May, I became a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. For those of you who don’t know, that degree can cost up to 300K. I’m pretty much drowning in student loan debt, but it’s all mine, my parents did not help whatsoever. I became pregnant last year and took some time off to have my daughter. She’s the light of my life and I don’t regret my decision for a second, but completing my clinical year with a child under the age of one was fucking grueling. But I did it. I didn’t yet mention that I went to school in Ireland, so I had no family to help through the year, no car, and a shitty one bedroom with your typical predatory Dublin landlord.

I’m proud of myself and my accomplishments. I don’t think a lot of people could have persevered like I did. I’m grateful that I was able to achieve my dreams and overcome so many obstacles. It just sucks that no one in my family seems to give a flying fuck.

I got back to the states after my finals and started my new job as a veterinarian after a two week break. I didn’t even get to walk at my graduation because I couldn’t afford the round trip flight to Dublin. I’ve been an associate vet for almost 6 months and my parents have yet to even come visit my office.

My parents wanted me to become an MD. A veterinarian has a silly job to them because they feel that animals don’t matter as much as people do. My older brother is the hero in the family, an Iraq veteran turned hometown cop. We took trips all over the states to visit whatever base he was stationed at when he was in the army.

Recently I kind of lost it on my mom. I don’t even remember how the subject came up, probably because it’s constantly in the back of my mind. I broke down about how I felt like my becoming a doctor went largely unacknowledged. She asked me what I wanted, and said that she “didn’t have a party because she knows I hate being the center of attention.” I told her that I just wanted money, if they weren’t going to give a shit then I wanted money so I wouldn’t feel so financially suffocated.

She gave me a check. It felt gross. I feel like I emotionally blackmailed my parents into giving me 3K.

expecting a graduation gift