Apartment Searching

Searching for affordable apartments is a lot more difficult than what I've been taught. One day, I'll grow up to be a big girl and be able to live without parents. I'll be able to pay rent, finance bills, buy furniture, purchase food, cook, clean, and eventually take care of my own children. While I'm not even close to the last one, I'd still like to start.

Living here at home as a college student is very difficult. I got to move out, experience living in a dorm, and be on my own for awhile, but then my sudden health issues brought me all the way back here. I feel too old for this, too old to be harassed by my mother on a daily basis. I'm too old to be patronized by my father when he finally gets home from work. I'm too old to still be arguing with my brothers about who has to walk the dogs. I'm too old trying to cram my maturity into a small room and a skinny church pew beside my family. It's just too much.

Of course it was nice for some time. I didn't have to worry about feeding myself. I could take my mother up on her offers to talk to doctors for me. I didn't have to walk across the street to do my laundry. I get to live with some pets who I've minimally contributed to. I didn't have to beg for rides from friends, either dependable or lazy. I didn't have to worry about minor things like groceries and getting my roommates to let me sleep at night so I could be productive with my time when I was awake.

But the effects of the upside of living at home quickly wore off. Now, whenever I get the inspiration and the chance, I search.

I just had to be working and schooling at the most expensive parts of the county. Really? It's not my fault the mall on the white-side-of-town was hiring and paid well. It's not my fault the community college campus with the classes I needed to complete my Associates Degree is located in the second richest city. So why would I be looking for a place farther away from these locations when I'll, in return, lose my access to a car and have to take a bus? What's the point? The bus is still free, not like paying for gas in my family car. But the time it takes to get from point A to point B is atrocious.

I even have two good friends I'd be rooming with who both happen to be working at the same mall as me and going to the same school as me. Even then, we've only got part-time jobs, plus the fact that we're part-time students. All of us despise our home situations and need an out soon. There's no hope that we can make a successful exit plan in the near future. We work hard, but for what? For minimum wage. To get nowhere. Great.

 I hope they're looking, because this is so damn difficult.