I'm 16 years old (turning 17 the first of November) and live in Tennessee. At this moment in my life I am terrified as to what is going to happen to me. I need to be emancipated, yet I know there is no law allowing me to do so. Government wouldn't allow it, or else every teen would want to try it. That is what is so difficult. Every adult I've consulted- school counselors, social workers, teachers, etc. has been against me. They all see the need to agree with my father, the one who will not let me leave. My father verbally abuses me and constantly puts me down. When I was looking on the internet for my rights as a Tennessee teenager, he threatened to take away my computer and swore at me for it. Now my mother is all for me living a better life. She knows that what I have planned is best for me. I just want to go to a better school and live with my friend and his mother, who has taken superb care of me in the past, and finish school there because it offers exactly what I need to pursue my career. The only one who isn't seeing it is my father. So what I need to know is how I can be emancipated, or at least able to leave my home, if only one of my parents allows it. I've gotten to the point where I'm highly considering just going to court and point blank asking what to do since everything is left to me now to deal with. I want to know everything I can do to get away from this environment and do what is best for me and my future as a responsible adult. I will do anything it takes, besides staying here and waiting it out. Please. I desperately need help. Legal help. My emotions do not matter any longer, only what I can do matters.

