My dream version of my future self is me being a scientist, living a stable life and truly being happy with myself and my life.

Many people find it hard to have enough income to survive in the world. The world is becoming more expensive to live in and it is even worse in the U.S. states, New York and California, my place of residence. Being able to financially support myself as an adult would lower my high anxiety of becoming one as well as lowering my chances of asking others for money in the future. In addition, a career in STEM will only make me financially independent faster. I believe the ability to support yourself financially as an adult is one of the best things an 18-year-old can only dream of when graduating high school. One of the biggest benefits to me would be becoming financially independent from my father. I would say I love my father but sometimes he can be suffocating. Suffocating in a way where he holds money over your head and you have to fight and beg for it. It is a very unhealthy way to live, to be scared of asking for necessities like body wash or/and feminine products. It is easy for me to imagine this situation becoming worse as I become an adult which is why I do worry about it often. If I had money coming out of high school, I could be an adult relying on me and only me. It is honestly only one can dream of. A career in STEM would solidify my dream of supporting myself financially. I hope to become a Microbiologist in the future and I would hope to learn and have fun while pursuing this career. But, one thing about scientists is that they, depending on their research jobs, will get paid a fair amount of money. I would say more than enough to financially support myself once and for all. If by this point in my life, I still have to ask for money from others, that would be no more. My pursuit of a career in STEM makes my future financial situation brighter than it would be without the career. As a result of everything being against me in life, I could only hope to become financially independent from as many people as I need to be when I become an adult in a year. I would be more of a calm person and I know that I would only benefit from this independence. I have been able to be independent in terms of education, mental health and money is the only thing I am missing from the list. My STEM career will help me stay/become independent from everyone and then there I think I could finally be content with my life.