Hi, guys —

My name is Layla and I was raised a Roman Catholic.

I'm 16 years old and have a mutual entanglement, love with a boy in my class. My parents have rules set for:

• who I date
• how I date, and
• when I date.

The main rule is that I am not allowed to date until I graduate. I respect it and he does too but there is a bigger dilemma. He is bisexual and chooses not to:

• limit himself
• pick a religious view, and
• has opposing political stances to what I believe.

We talked about a difficult topic: our future together. He brought up wanting to experience constant company as saying we should move in together. I'm not allowed unless we were married. He feels disappointed and discouraged. He doesn't want to follow rules.

My parents yearn for me to be courted by a strong Catholic boy that I can raise a family with and bring closer to God. I have no problem with that.

If he (my boyfriend) had control, we'd be where we are now, a year later. We'd move in together two years or more after we graduate, while beyond that, we marry, have no more than 2 children (I want as many as I can) and raise them together without getting a divorce.

He suggests our kids do something similar and that we become grandparents. This is moving fast. He can have that with someone else. He admitted he was crossing lines and mixing up being against the establishment and being against strict rules and religious beliefs. He used to be a strong atheist and says that part of him needs to be completely isolated.

I need help badly. We are talking as friends and we respect each other. I never said anything to my parents because they won't like him all that much. As you can imagine, I am in 11th grade and dealing with a ton.

I need serious help.

Anonymous Layla