Lots of good advice here. One thing I would emphasize: think about how you ended up in this (rotten) situation and what you can change about yourself to make sure it doesn't happen again.
You seem to have an extreme case of nice guy syndrome. You don't want to get into a conflict with your boss and you are highly willing to sacrifice yourself to meet his expectations. My guess is you would feel almost physically ill at the idea of "letting someone down" who was "counting on you".
You need to get over that, at least somewhat. If you don't set boundaries, if you don't have a notion of where your wants and needs are more important than what others want and need from you, you'll always be overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated. Nobody respects a pushover, and there are a lot of guys who will use them up mercilessly.
Did I read that you're only 21? If so, hey, you've got lots of time to get this sorted out. But you might as well start now. :)
Closing thoughts: Get out as soon as possible--there's a lot of ways you could go about this. Don't try to "get even", just cut your losses. Don't do anything unethical on the way out. Do not trust your boss if he starts making promises of change or reform. As soon as possible, start saving money and get a cushion built up. You'd be in a much better position now if you weren't living paycheck to paycheck. Good luck.
You seem to have an extreme case of nice guy syndrome. You don't want to get into a conflict with your boss and you are highly willing to sacrifice yourself to meet his expectations. My guess is you would feel almost physically ill at the idea of "letting someone down" who was "counting on you".
You need to get over that, at least somewhat. If you don't set boundaries, if you don't have a notion of where your wants and needs are more important than what others want and need from you, you'll always be overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated. Nobody respects a pushover, and there are a lot of guys who will use them up mercilessly.
Did I read that you're only 21? If so, hey, you've got lots of time to get this sorted out. But you might as well start now. :)
Closing thoughts: Get out as soon as possible--there's a lot of ways you could go about this. Don't try to "get even", just cut your losses. Don't do anything unethical on the way out. Do not trust your boss if he starts making promises of change or reform. As soon as possible, start saving money and get a cushion built up. You'd be in a much better position now if you weren't living paycheck to paycheck. Good luck.