Rich,
Oh, if I knew what I know now when I was your age....
First, realize that freedom starts in your own mind, only then can you hope to find it out there, in your world, your country, your neighborhood. It sounds like you have a good start on that, and if you have that, you bring your freedom with you wherever you go. It's just a matter of finding a place where it can be best expressed.
The overriding advice I have for you is to keep as many options as possible open to you. You're just getting ready to start out in an independent life. Don't do anything now that will close off options for things you don't even know yet that you might want to do.
First and foremost, that means don't take on any debt. Nothing closes off future options faster than having regular monthly payments that you can't get out from under, for things that might not even last as long as the payments. If you have to borrow for a car, to open up more employment possibilities, buy the cheapest one you can possibly find that will suit that purpose, then use the extra income to pay it off as soon as possible. Don't borrow, ever, for something that won't increase your income. Debt is perfectly reasonable if it is to buy productive capital, it is never worth it for consumable or luxury items. Any car that has more than the minimum you need to get to work and back is a luxury.
Second, it means educating yourself. Absolutely, finish high school. That diploma will open some doors for you that might be closed without it. But realize that the diploma is not the same as the education. Much of what you'll be taught in public school will harm you more than help you if you let it. But you will learn some valuable things as well, so stick with it, but understand that it's entirely up to you to sort out the wheat from the chaff.
Educate yourself outside of school as well. This will help you know the wheat from the chaff, but it will also be the far more valuable education in the long run. Buy books, all you can get your hands on, in whatever subjects interest you. And read them, don't just display them on a shelf and consider it educational. You can find inexpensive books at used book stores, yard sales, or get hand-me-downs from friends and family. Maybe even from teachers. I have two shelves full of college-level textbooks that cost me on average less than a dollar each. It turns out the cheapest used books are often the most useful, history, academic subjects, philosophy, and the like. They're the ones nobody wants to read anymore. Use the textbooks you get from the school to read ahead, to the parts that aren't covered, and learn all you can from them while you have free access to them. Go to the library and study.
Don't go to college just because it's what you're supposed to do, the expected path. Go when you have a specific purpose for going. It's an expensive, time consuming process, much of which will be wasted on requirements like "women's studies", or "social justice in the 21st century", and learning obsolete and dangerous economic, political, and philosophical BS aimed at making you a "good citizen" that knows enough to produce for others, but not enough to be able to produce for yourself. Make your own path for your education, and make sure that what you pay for with your time and money brings the benefits to you that you want, not what others want and that benefits them more than you.
Manage your money carefully. Stay out of debt no matter what, but it takes more than that. Learn to live on 70% of what you take home, and put the rest in savings. Don't worry about investing it, getting interest, buying gold and silver, etc., at this point. That can come later when you have enough stockpiled for it to matter, and have learned more about how to manage such things.
The remaining 30% is your nest egg. This is what you will someday live on the proceeds of, whether you use it to start a business, invest it, or what have you. If you start now, and are ruthless about saving that money, you may be able to effectively "retire" by the time you are thirty. Sooner if you really dedicate yourself to it. The goal is to get to a point where your money makes the money you need to live on, and the less you are used to living on, the lower your debt, the sooner that time comes. Retiring doesn't mean staying home and playing golf and driving your Porsche around, it means you still work and be productive, but you do it in your own way, without having a boss, having the same rote tasks every day, getting chewed out for showing up at 9:05 and being told you have to stay late. Your time is your own, and you can use it to make money that stays your own.
If you can't do that on one job, get a second job. I know it's tough while in school, but living with your parents, you don't have a lot of expenses either. Look at this time like building a foundation for the rest of your life. It doesn't look like much from the outside, the work is all being done underground, but without it the most beautiful house in the world won't stand. Look at your current job as training for how to have a job, or more specifically, how to be productive and make money. You probably won't be in fast food all your life, but there are still skills you will learn from this job that will be invaluable to your future. Soak it all up. And then push yourself to find a better job. Look for jobs just beyond what you think you are qualified for, you'd be amazed at how low the standards have become.
Take the long view. Realize that by avoiding all the bells and whistles now, not having all the cool stuff your friends have, it means that in a few years you will be able to buy cool stuff without making yourself a wage slave like those friends will probably be. And your definition of "cool" will have changed as well. If you try to be just like them now, you'll end up being just like them forever - trapped. Set your sights higher than that.
Your freedom starts with independence now. Stay out of debt, save money, and learn all you can. With that, you're buying now, with all your hard work, the time, resources, and knowledge that will enable you to live how you want in the future. Wyoming will still be there when you're ready. It may seem like time is short with the political situation, but you have to start from where you are. Shortcuts look tempting, but Wyoming won't save you if you don't have a good foundation.
