When you've spent most of your life dealing with familial estrangement, you learn how to live without them. Though it might sound enticing to open up your heart to those who've realized the error of their ways, you always need to be on alert. When you don't hold a close relationship with family, they might take advantage of you're unawareness of their tricks and entitled behavior. The 21-year-old in this next story sees this from a mile away when her father asks her to consider being a potential guardian for his new stepchild in the case something happened to him and his new wife.
Long story short: You don't owe anyone anything. The world is a harsh place. If you've felt isolated from your parents, you know that's just the way life goes, but you have to match their energy. If you spend your whole life cosplaying as a doormat, you might as well be one.