Long story short, I couldn't deal with my parents' bs anymore, and I left their house. I'm living with a friend now, trying to find a job and hoping to go back to school in August, but preparing not to, if I don't have quite enough money.

Here's the pluses, though: I got a haircut (see avatar), and I'm going to file for a name change soon. I have one question about the form, though. It asks for any other names or aliases I've "been identified by since birth." I'm wondering if I should put anything, since I've signed some things as Michael, but not anything legal that I can think of. What qualifies something as an "alias"?

I think I have everything else sorted out, though. I'm going to call the court clerk soon and ask how much I should expect to pay.

This is so awesome!

Usually they want any known aliases. Most of the time it is to weed out those who are changing their names to defraud others.  Any name that you have used in the past as a means of identification.

Janet

Congrats on the name change.  And the haircut looks great on you.    Sorry your parents aren't being so cooperative.    Hopefully they'll come around in time.

I'm sorry about your parents, but it sounds like you are doing what you have to do. Maybe they'll ease up after a little while. I've heard a lot of stories about parents who have.

If you are low income (like unemployed!), you might qualify for a fee waiver on the name change.

Good luck on the job hunt!

what Janet said, but I would stick to names that you've used on legal docs.  If you got a magazine subscription under Michael, I wouldn't worry about it. 
Bank accounts, school records, that kind of stuff is what you probably want to worry about.