No, no no. Your not abandoning her or your brother. I dont know what your father did, but you cant put yourself to think that. Your going off to college because you not only want to experience life out on your own but also because you wanna excel in education. Your mother is probably doesnt wanna see her first son go off to college where you'll be there to essential grow up and realize what it is that you wanna do with your life. And thats scary for any parent. Like MikeL said she'll come to terms with it. Just dont let it get to you, if you wanna go to college in Providence then go. Do what you need to do to get there. And not only talk to her more about it but then show her that your serious about going and that could change her thought process on the whole thing.