The truth is, I've been carrying this around in my chest for a long time and I don't know if I'm wrong in my feelings. I'm 23, he's 24, and we've been in a relationship for 8 years. We both graduated from college but right now, I'm the only one who has a job. My salary is just right and I still have loans to pay off. He is still in training to get on the ship, and I know he is going through a difficult time as well.
I would like him to ask his parents for at least ₱500–₱1,000 allowance per week. I don't want him to work right now because I want him to be able to rest after 8 hours of training. We have a sideline every Sunday but that's still not enough for his daily expenses.
We also have a motorbike under my name that we took for his service because there is no public transportation passing through his workplace. I pay the monthly amortization from my earnings every Saturday. But the most painful thing for me, sometimes he doesn't eat just to save money, and he doesn't want to accept it even if I give it to him. He says he doesn't want to ask his parents because they have a lot of debt. But when his other siblings ask, they get it right away.
I really see how unfair his family treated him. During his graduation, we only ate at the foodcourt, but when his nephew was baptized, there was lechon and a feast. He was the most responsible of the five siblings, but he was also the always forgetful. He wasn't even given a phone — he made everyone work hard. After college, his parents did not help him with his apprenticeship. Instead, they kept him in the bakery for a year even though they could provide support.
Now, even though I want to insist that he ask for a little help from his parents, we fight whenever I bring it up. I don't do it for myself. Me, I can barely sleep thinking about side hustles just to help him. Even if it's just a small thing from his parents, I want him to feel that he's not alone, that someone besides me is supporting him.
I don't know if I'm being a bad girlfriend if I insist on this. I just want to help her and make her feel important to her family. But sometimes I wonder if I'm the only one who has this view, and she herself would rather endure alone than beg.
