Does this sound like my mom is trying to discourage me from bettering myself and trying new things?

Could be....My Mrs sometimes tries to hold me back and my theory is that by bettering myself, it means she loses whatever hold she has over me. Its a control thing and you just have to ignore it no matter how much negative light they shed on the matter. Its a way of keeping you in check, they don't want you feeling like you don't need them anymore.