Should I leave Home?

"Mom and Dad:
"Well, I'm finally leaving. As I've said before, I'm not doing this to spite you or get back at you in any way. I cannot be happy being confined like you want me to be. Maybe I won't be happy this way either, but I'd just like to find out."
THUS began a 17-year-old girl's farewell letter to her parents. In the Federal Republic of Germany, for example, every 3rd girl and every 4th boy between the ages of 15 and 24 now lives away from home. Perhaps you have thought about leaving home yourself.
God foresaw that the desire to marry would cause a person to "leave his father and his mother." And there are other valid reasons for leaving, such as expanding one's service to God. For many youths, however, leaving home is simply a way of getting out of what they feel is an intolerable situation. Says one young man: "It's simply that you wan to be more independent. Living at home with your parents is no longer satisfying. You are always getting into arguments, and they do not understand your needs. Besides, you feel so restricted, always having to answer your parents for your every move."