[FONT=""][COLOR=""][SIZE=""]Hi, welcome back! It's always a pleasure to see you around here, no matter how much time has passed and no matter how old you get. Please never hesitate in reaching out, and remember that age is just a number and "teenhelp" is just a name. You can still come on here for support, whether you're 30, 60, or 90. 

Anyways, I want to add my two cents because I had a relative (I never met her) who cut her family off when she turned eighteen. Her parents passed away when she was young, and so she was sent to live with relatives within the same area. I'm only basing this on what I heard from a parent (who wasn't born yet either when this relative left); but her adolescent years were not pleasant.

She ended up relocating to another state, where she changed her name and started a family of her own. It's indicative that she was never again in touch with her family based on two things: the obituary of her brother and when I found her granddaughter, she was shocked to hear from a 'white' relative.

The point I'm trying to get to is that this was so much easier to do in the late 1930s. Telephones existed, but you had to use a 'party' line first connecting with an operator. Computers were only in use by the military come the mid 1940s. By the time technology evolved to the point of the Internet, websites such as Spokeo, and Ancestry spit testing; she had passed away and the people she left behind were long dead.

Consider what you're trying to do is really what it boils down to. I imagine you don't plan to cut off all ties, clear out your savings account, and move to a new state. I imagine you hope to keep your significant other in your life as well as your friend. You have 99.8% of your life still connected. Are your parents on social media? Do they have a current email address? Are they in contact with your inner circle? Are they the type of people who will hire a PI to try to find you, were you to clear your physical and digital trace? Do you think they'd over react if they don't hear from you after 48 hours and call the police to report you missing?

While it is ultimately your decision, this is something you should discuss with your significant other and your inner circle if you haven't yet. You probably have a dozen reasons to go ahead with it; and discussing them might be moot but at least these people in your life will be able to support you in this transition.

Wishing you the best of luck and I apologize for the essay.[/size][/color][/font]