#4 The Day I Left Home
When I graduated high school I went to the local Jr. College......for too many years. I had no idea what I wanted to do so when I got my AA I continued to attend the local Jr. College. I had applied to a local college, was accepted but didn't attend. I felt it was too close to home. My mom was also attending the school and I didn't really want to attend the same school as my mom (no offense mom).
I ended up taking Child Development classes for a semester just to take classes and explore my options. I loved the classes! That semester I received a letter from a school I had applied to the previous year asking me to fill out one sheet of paper, send it in, and I would be accepted. No application necessary. I had gotten in the previous year but wasn't ready to make my way in the world yet, I was comfortable.Well I sat on that letter for months and decided to just do it. I sent it by Fed Ex and then called the admissions office everyday until they told me they received it and I'm in. I basically had a week to get myself organized to make the drive and check out the campus.
The college I attended was about 2-3 hours from my home town, close enough to home but just far enough. It also had a great Child Development program. So I jumped on it. I didn't have a place to live, or a job in the area. I crashed classes and got into the 3 classes I was hoping for but kept my job in my hometown. So I was almost out of the house.
My schedule was a bit crazy for the first semester and I didn't officially leave home until that semester was over. My classes were on Tuesday, Wedneday, and Thursday. After class on Thursday I would head home and go to work. I would work Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, again on Monday. Tuesday morning I would get up at 4AM and drive to be at class by 8AM. It was crazy busy, but I did it. Well I eventually got a job as a teacher in a Child Development Center, and after school program, so I was in my college town more that my hometown. So I worked at the after school program Monday through Friday and then went to my hometown and worked at my other job Saturday and Sunday. More craziness.
Whats worse is I didn't have a place to live for the first semester. I spent 6 months bouncing from couch to couch, studying, and working. The apartment I had applied to was in the process of being built so I was stuck. It was challenging but I did it. I managed to make it all work until my apartment was ready to move in to.
The day I officially left home was 6 months after I initially left home, if that makes sense. I moved into my apartment and was pretty much on my own. No parents, no sister, just me. My dad helped me pack up my stuff and take to my apartment. He helped me move my furniture, which was all my bedroom stuff, and get it all organized. It was a bittersweet moment. I loved that I didn't have to check in if I didn't want to. Don't get me wrong I had all kinds of freedom when I was living at home, but this was a whole new ball game.
I actually had to go grocery shopping for myself, find a way to do my laundry (fortunately my roommate had her own washer and dryer), save money so I could go out once in a while (I called it my rainy day money that I kept in an envelope by my nightstand), save enough money to buy my books (thanks mom for lending me some money when I was short), apply for student loans, pay my bills, really watch my spending, and just make it all work any way I could. I still wonder how I managed with the craziness, but I have learned that if you want it bad enough you can make anything happen.
1 comments:
That does sound crazy.
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