I'm an 18-year-old from Houston, Texas. I have my own plans: I want to leave home as soon as possible, get a job for a year; and after one year has passed after working and living by myself in an apartment, I will evaluate my situation from there. If I like my life and job, I will continue; if I don't like my life and job, I will go to a technical college to learn a skilled trade (and hence be able to earn more money).
However, there is a problem...
My parents don't want me to leave; they want to control my destiney. They want me to go to college for the next 8 years of my life; they also want me to get a low-wage, part-time job that would, of course, consume most of my off-time and social-life. This is not what I want, especially for the next 8 years. I'm independent; I want to try living on my own working full-time; and as I said, if I don't like my status after a year, I'll go to tech-school and then eventually get a better-paying job. I have things planned out well. But my parents won't listen, even though my plan isn't bad.
As I said at the start of this post, I'm 18. I'm an adult. Do I have the ability to just get a job on my own, then get an apartment on my own, without having my parents step in my way and stop me? What can I do?

