18-year-old high schooler boards flight alone, leaving mom, stepfather, and 3 and 6-year-old half-siblings behind: 'I was basically expected to take over my mom's part of the parenting'

When this 18-year-old boarded an airplane alone, she knew exactly how it would impact her family, but she still chose to fly on her own. 

In many families, the eldest sibling is expected to take on the burden of caring for the younger kids. In this 18-year-old's case, that means her 3 and 6-year-old siblings — ages that are notoriously exhausting to care for. At 6, kids are usually pretty well-behaved, and they may even be in their "helpful" stage, which is both cute and makes life easier for the caregiver. But at age 3, kids are still bouncing off the walls, possibly potty-trained but also possibly still in diapers, and they're going to be racing around at full speed. All you can do is try to chase that little one as they dart around the crowded airport while you carry their luggage and hold hands with the 6-year-old! It's no wonder this teen was reluctant to take on babysitting duties from her mom. 

As she shared in her story below, she got back at her family by simply boarding the flight while they made a last-minute bathroom run. It's odd that they stayed in the bathroom for so long that they missed their boarding call altogether, but for this teen, it was totally a blessing in disguise. Commenters also agreed that she did the right thing — and that setting hard boundaries is a good thing, even if it stuns her Mom and stepfather.