(Today, I was planning on writing about food -- "yankee" restaurants in particular, but I've noticed SO. MANY. Cookevillians are reading my blog, so I decided to write something so you all could get to know me a little better.)
By now, I'm sure everyone I've talked to in Cookeville knows why I applied to TTU. I get really tired of explaining sometimes. But as those people should already know, I didn't start out here. I've lived the college life for the better part of 2 years, in 2 other schools I'll talk about today.
After I graduated high school, and had a fail of an experience at Eastern Kentucky University (long story short, I went there for a guy who left, and my financial aid didn't go through, and I found out it was a wild party school who placed way too large of a priority on greek life), my dad kicked me out of the house. Fast forward 6 months later, I was living on my own and planning on moving back to Kentucky to try again. This time, I was accepted at University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, where I got a pretty good scholarship. The only bit of Williamsburg that I knew, I had seen on vacation. Living there was an entirely different experience.
I knew I wasn't ready to be thrown into a world of frat parties, drugs, and one-night stands, so I made sure to apply at a school that banned those things. However, I wasn't ready for the rules that smothered me under the basis of religion. The turning point, where I realized "I don't like this lifestyle," is when I had gone to Walmart to buy decorations from my dorm room -- including some heavy things, like a TV and microwave. My guy friend who drove me to the store offered to help me carry my bags and boxes to my room, but he wasn't allowed to because it wasn't visiting hours. None of the FEMALE RA's helped me. I had to carry everything by myself, because letting a guy into a girl's dorm was somehow "offensive"...if it was before 7 PM.
Eventually I caved under the pressure of culture shock, homesickness, and the incredibly stupid no-male-visitors rule, and did something really bad that got me temporarily kicked out of school. (I will explain this later once I feel like I can trust my readers.) Since I was forced off-campus, I had to move into the first apartment I could find, and my money all had to go to rent/heat, rather than taking care of myself. I lived a disgusting life in Williamsburg second semester (when I was allowed back at school). I sprayed my clothes with febreze and washed them in the bathtub because I couldn't afford to go to the laundromat. Some days, I skipped meals (eating once a day was my norm), and sometimes I survived on ramen for almost a month at a time. There was just no money left over for anything else...and without a meal plan, I was dependent on what other people gave me.
I couldn't live that lifestyle anymore, so after my first year in Kentucky, I went home. I stayed with my mom for the summer, and enrolled in a community college 2 hours from my hometown. I wasn't particularly fond of my new apartment, but it was in good shape. My mom bought my food, and helped me out with rent. I was still poor, but I was clean and well-fed. And I loved the city. I still miss it a little. I miss the independence of the bus system, and my bike, before it got stolen. It was a neutral life. Not awesome, but not nearly as bad as it was. I began to enjoy myself.
Then my mom died suddenly in November (a week before my 21st birthday). And there was no reason to be close to her house anymore. I didn't have a "home" to go back to, and I was on my own again. The cold Minnesota winters didn't contribute any to my crumbling sanity...I was incredibly lonely... Kristi + family were great to me, inviting me over for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but there was nowhere I felt I could go just to visit. Mike had tried to convince me to move closer to where his mother lived, but I knew I couldn't handle living in Kentucky again. I had no desire to ever attend another religious college, and I wasn't interested in any of Kentucky's state schools.
And then we went to Nashville...and my perspective changed. Now that there was nothing to keep me at "home," the hope of something better in Tennessee (as in, cheap food, affordable apartments, and GREEN GRASS in MARCH!) motivated me to move again. And here I am. Home. :)
Showing posts with label moving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label moving. Show all posts
Monday, September 26, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
here we go again.
Well, summer's over.
Close enough, anyway.
Class starts on MONDAY. (!!!)
I've been the "new kid"/transfer student roughly once a year since age 16, so I'm used to walking in a classroom full of unfamiliar faces, but I still find myself worrying sometimes.
MSCTC was a huge let down, and here, I just want people to like me.
There are SO many clubs to join, so I'm hoping I'll find a place to fit in somewhere.
I doubt I'll join a sorority (dues are too expensive), but I might rush anyway, just to meet some girls.
I need girl friends!
Though Adrian, Shawn, Kyle, and James are amazing people and they make me so happy, I need shopping buddies. XD
I'm also thinking of joining an art club (need to get motivated to draw more!!), and possibly a church group.
There must be a church group here for every denomination, which means I will probably be avoiding BCM.
I don't need to be told how deserving of pity I am because I come from a "broken family" or any of the other crap certain baptists have told me. /end rant
Besides the frat party I went to a few weeks ago, I haven't had a chance to meet very many students in one place.
On Friday, there's a dance welcoming back all the college kids.
I think Kyle and I are gonna go, and I hope it will be an amazing time.
I'm in need of some fun.
This computer isn't much fun to stare at for days on end. :P
Close enough, anyway.
Class starts on MONDAY. (!!!)
I've been the "new kid"/transfer student roughly once a year since age 16, so I'm used to walking in a classroom full of unfamiliar faces, but I still find myself worrying sometimes.
MSCTC was a huge let down, and here, I just want people to like me.
There are SO many clubs to join, so I'm hoping I'll find a place to fit in somewhere.
I doubt I'll join a sorority (dues are too expensive), but I might rush anyway, just to meet some girls.
I need girl friends!
Though Adrian, Shawn, Kyle, and James are amazing people and they make me so happy, I need shopping buddies. XD
I'm also thinking of joining an art club (need to get motivated to draw more!!), and possibly a church group.
There must be a church group here for every denomination, which means I will probably be avoiding BCM.
I don't need to be told how deserving of pity I am because I come from a "broken family" or any of the other crap certain baptists have told me. /end rant
Besides the frat party I went to a few weeks ago, I haven't had a chance to meet very many students in one place.
On Friday, there's a dance welcoming back all the college kids.
I think Kyle and I are gonna go, and I hope it will be an amazing time.
I'm in need of some fun.
This computer isn't much fun to stare at for days on end. :P
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Home - A Photo Tour.
Every place has something good in it,
from the falling down ghettoes of southeastern Kentucky, to the TOO COLD flatlands of North Dakota.
I love Fargo, I really do...in the summer. The whole town smells good, and it's less crowded because most of the college kids have gone home.
I moved here in July. A year (11 months, but who's counting?) is plenty enough time to get to know a place.
Because I didn't make any long-term friends I didn't already know before I came here,
most of the places I'll miss will just be stores or places I spend time at by myself...but here they are anyway:
^Every time I see the bridge that connects the states, I think of the time Mike and I walked 2 and a half miles in search of a Hardees, and we called his mom to tell her we walked to North Dakota. XD She didn't know it was only 8 blocks to North Dakota from my apartment.
^The buffalo with the human face, at the art museum next to the library. Every time I want to go to the coffee shop, the Moorhead mall, or if I catch a bus downtown, I have to pass this. It's freaking creepy but I kinda feel like it's the mascot of my neighborhood.
^Just kidding. I hate Hornbachers. But it's where my food comes from, so I have to be a LITTLE bit thankful it exists.
West Acres is probably my favorite place in the entire town. It was where I bought virtually all my clothes from 7th grade up to now. When I come back here to visit, I'll have to go there to spend more money I don't have. :)
^This is where I ate lunch today. One of my first memories is trying a parmesan pretzel at this same restaurant. They're greasy and overpriced, but I had to have one because when I was younger, it was a big tradition, and I wanted to feel like a little kid again.
^Yeah, yeah, more food. This is the candy store, where I get my bag of Jelly Belly beans that are the same flavors every time. Pomegranate, Kiwi, Pear, Peach, and Plum.
^It is disgusting how much money I spend at Hollister in one shopping trip. Everything in there is bright and colorful...My wardrobe is so dark, except for the stuff I've bought from there.
^Before the store next to JCP was a tux shop, it used to be a toy store. KB Toys was where I first learned that I could blow all my birthday money on one trip. XD I remember being 10 years old throwing a penny into that fountain. I have pictures standing in front of it at 16 years old, and at 21, I bought my convention dress at JCPenneys, as well as towels and washcloths for my *4th* apartment.
^A girl I knew in college told me there is an Asian Market in Nashville, and one in Knoxville too, but both of those cities are an hour or more from where I'll be living. I'll miss having fancy ramen only a 15 minute bike ride away.
Of course, there are MANY more places I'll miss (EXTREME PITA, Cashwise, the seasonal DQ 3 blocks away, the Moorhead library, Moxie Java, Target, Taco Johns, and Pizza Ranch, to name a few), but I don't have pictures of them. I need to make a list of things I should do every holiday when I can afford to come visit.
I wonder what I'll be doing at this time next year, and where I'll be...I hope I'll be enjoying a summer in Cookeville just as much as I've enjoyed summer here so far. :)
from the falling down ghettoes of southeastern Kentucky, to the TOO COLD flatlands of North Dakota.
I love Fargo, I really do...in the summer. The whole town smells good, and it's less crowded because most of the college kids have gone home.
I moved here in July. A year (11 months, but who's counting?) is plenty enough time to get to know a place.
Because I didn't make any long-term friends I didn't already know before I came here,
most of the places I'll miss will just be stores or places I spend time at by myself...but here they are anyway:
West Acres is probably my favorite place in the entire town. It was where I bought virtually all my clothes from 7th grade up to now. When I come back here to visit, I'll have to go there to spend more money I don't have. :)
Of course, there are MANY more places I'll miss (EXTREME PITA, Cashwise, the seasonal DQ 3 blocks away, the Moorhead library, Moxie Java, Target, Taco Johns, and Pizza Ranch, to name a few), but I don't have pictures of them. I need to make a list of things I should do every holiday when I can afford to come visit.
I wonder what I'll be doing at this time next year, and where I'll be...I hope I'll be enjoying a summer in Cookeville just as much as I've enjoyed summer here so far. :)
Saturday, May 21, 2011
The hard part of planning.
Things we still need:
Living Room Couch
Living Room Chair?
Coffee Table
Bookshelf
Lamps
Kitchen Table
Kitchen Chairs
Microwave
Cookware (pots, mostly)
Bunk Bed
Desk
Storage
Vacuum Cleaner
Rolling hamper (to walk clothes to the laundromat)
Bike (only mode of free transportation)
1 Greyhound bus ticket (TO GET THERE!)
The only room I have finished shopping for is the bathroom. We'll probably still need a few more washcloths and towels, but I figure by the time I move in, it will be July and beach towels will be on sale.
I'm almost done with the kitchen as well. We have enough bowls, plates, etc, and I'm getting a lot of cooking supplies from my mom's house. I still can't take anything too big or heavy to put in a suitcase.
Nor can I afford to ship most of the items I already have. All of the "big things" have to be bought new IN Cookeville...somehow. Even though I haven't done ONE "fun" thing for myself all month (ALL shopping has been for either apartment stuff, food, or daily necessities), I'm still broke & waiting for a miracle.
I know I could furnish an apartment in Fargo for what I find at garage sales and on Craigslist, but that doesn't look like a possibility either. Mike lives in a very isolated town that isn't close enough to any city with a Craigslist URL, and the garage sales in that area are junky at best. I didn't even see ANY furniture at the one I went to while I was there.
My friend Dawn & I started selling a few things at her garage sale today, and I made 3 dollars. That might buy a few screws for the bunk bed XD (Having somewhere to sleep when I get to the new place is my priority right now.) It was fun sitting out there...I wasn't expecting to profit much anyway...just have something to take up my time. :) I'm going back out there tomorrow to try again.
I have one weekend to try to make some more money selling my mom's stuff, but no way will that leave me enough to have a 'home.' If the car still isn't going through the court, I might have to give that up in order to move sooner. I would really like to keep the car though. It's a really nice car!...even though I don't have a job to pay for gas or insurance, so I can't drive it yet.
My mom's retirement company has just started to send out monthly checks of $325. This is added to the survivor's check I use to pay for my rent/bills/food. Regardless of how they are spent, they will come monthly until I graduate from college or turn 25, I can't remember which. Last month, my aunt took the check to help pay off the house payment of my mom's house (Which makes no sense, because one of her kids + his friend is living in it, and they SHOULD be paying rent.) I have this month's check in my purse...I'm clinging to it for dear life because honestly, I need the money more than that house does.
I get so frustrated sometimes...I don't care what happens to that house. My mom hated it, I hated it, no one in this family will ever live in it long-term. If it was sold now, that would be the best, because then the remaining money (after paying off the mortgage) would probably fund the rest of my college tuition until I graduate. That's what my mom would really want. My school was her first priority. I remember her calling me when I was in Williamsburg. She had been eating old potatoes and pasta all week because after paying my leftover tuition, she didn't have enough for quality food. That's the first thing that prompted me to leave UC. I felt terrible. Everything always comes back to money.
If only I could hang on to the next three checks...May's, June's, and July's...our townhouse/rental house/WHATEVER will be comfortable and feeling like home. If I somehow get cheated out of it, I hope my family (who insists they have my best interests in mind) enjoys the thought of me sleeping on the floor and hitching rides (no way to transport my bike either...plus it's locked up because my mom was the only person who knew the combination...) while a house nobody wants is being paid off for no reason.
ALSO, since none of my family members (who CAN afford it) have offered to help me out transportation-wise, I may have to give up the cats. All of them. Greyhound doesn't allow pets, and I can't get them their own plane ticket...or ship them in a cardboard box. XD This seriously disturbs me. The thought haunts my dreams. I don't WANT to give them to new homes, but at the cost of saving on rent every month and getting to go to a better school, I have to? Pets aren't replaceable by any means, but I imagine myself stalking Craigslist for a couple kitties to keep me sane this summer if this is the way things are gonna go... :(
*DEEP BREATH* Okay, rant's over. I have a lot of cleaning to do. Only a few more weeks of living in an apartment with a landlord who hates me. Everything has a bright side.
Living Room Couch
Living Room Chair?
Coffee Table
Bookshelf
Lamps
Kitchen Table
Kitchen Chairs
Microwave
Cookware (pots, mostly)
Bunk Bed
Desk
Storage
Vacuum Cleaner
Rolling hamper (to walk clothes to the laundromat)
Bike (only mode of free transportation)
1 Greyhound bus ticket (TO GET THERE!)
The only room I have finished shopping for is the bathroom. We'll probably still need a few more washcloths and towels, but I figure by the time I move in, it will be July and beach towels will be on sale.
I'm almost done with the kitchen as well. We have enough bowls, plates, etc, and I'm getting a lot of cooking supplies from my mom's house. I still can't take anything too big or heavy to put in a suitcase.
Nor can I afford to ship most of the items I already have. All of the "big things" have to be bought new IN Cookeville...somehow. Even though I haven't done ONE "fun" thing for myself all month (ALL shopping has been for either apartment stuff, food, or daily necessities), I'm still broke & waiting for a miracle.
I know I could furnish an apartment in Fargo for what I find at garage sales and on Craigslist, but that doesn't look like a possibility either. Mike lives in a very isolated town that isn't close enough to any city with a Craigslist URL, and the garage sales in that area are junky at best. I didn't even see ANY furniture at the one I went to while I was there.
My friend Dawn & I started selling a few things at her garage sale today, and I made 3 dollars. That might buy a few screws for the bunk bed XD (Having somewhere to sleep when I get to the new place is my priority right now.) It was fun sitting out there...I wasn't expecting to profit much anyway...just have something to take up my time. :) I'm going back out there tomorrow to try again.
I have one weekend to try to make some more money selling my mom's stuff, but no way will that leave me enough to have a 'home.' If the car still isn't going through the court, I might have to give that up in order to move sooner. I would really like to keep the car though. It's a really nice car!...even though I don't have a job to pay for gas or insurance, so I can't drive it yet.
My mom's retirement company has just started to send out monthly checks of $325. This is added to the survivor's check I use to pay for my rent/bills/food. Regardless of how they are spent, they will come monthly until I graduate from college or turn 25, I can't remember which. Last month, my aunt took the check to help pay off the house payment of my mom's house (Which makes no sense, because one of her kids + his friend is living in it, and they SHOULD be paying rent.) I have this month's check in my purse...I'm clinging to it for dear life because honestly, I need the money more than that house does.
I get so frustrated sometimes...I don't care what happens to that house. My mom hated it, I hated it, no one in this family will ever live in it long-term. If it was sold now, that would be the best, because then the remaining money (after paying off the mortgage) would probably fund the rest of my college tuition until I graduate. That's what my mom would really want. My school was her first priority. I remember her calling me when I was in Williamsburg. She had been eating old potatoes and pasta all week because after paying my leftover tuition, she didn't have enough for quality food. That's the first thing that prompted me to leave UC. I felt terrible. Everything always comes back to money.
If only I could hang on to the next three checks...May's, June's, and July's...our townhouse/rental house/WHATEVER will be comfortable and feeling like home. If I somehow get cheated out of it, I hope my family (who insists they have my best interests in mind) enjoys the thought of me sleeping on the floor and hitching rides (no way to transport my bike either...plus it's locked up because my mom was the only person who knew the combination...) while a house nobody wants is being paid off for no reason.
ALSO, since none of my family members (who CAN afford it) have offered to help me out transportation-wise, I may have to give up the cats. All of them. Greyhound doesn't allow pets, and I can't get them their own plane ticket...or ship them in a cardboard box. XD This seriously disturbs me. The thought haunts my dreams. I don't WANT to give them to new homes, but at the cost of saving on rent every month and getting to go to a better school, I have to? Pets aren't replaceable by any means, but I imagine myself stalking Craigslist for a couple kitties to keep me sane this summer if this is the way things are gonna go... :(
*DEEP BREATH* Okay, rant's over. I have a lot of cleaning to do. Only a few more weeks of living in an apartment with a landlord who hates me. Everything has a bright side.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Mother's Day Emo Rant
I still don't hate holidays.
I love holidays, more than any other days out of the year
(except, perhaps, the last day of school and Black Friday...)
but I'm having a hard time with this one.
I can't exactly say my mom and I had any mother's day traditions...
in fact, for the last two years, I didn't even celebrate with her.
But a mother is more than someone you buy a card for and mention on Facebook once a year.
Today, more than any other day, I have to be reminded that I'm missing yet another part of my life that most people get to have. I can't help but be a little jealous. :(
She's been gone for exactly 6 months.
I wonder what she'd think of me now...
I fully admit she'd spaz at the sight of my apartment...she was always so much cleaner than me.
Like the rest of my family, she'd probably be opposed to me moving again, because she saw how homesick I got last time...but UNLIKE the rest of my family, she'd still help me if she knew it was what I really wanted.
(Then again, if she was here, would I feel like I had to leave? Because I don't have any support here?)
She would be so proud of me that I finished the semester with a 3.5
She'd love how far I've gotten with my story...
I don't get the sudden urge to call her anymore.
Sometimes I just pretend she never existed, because it's easier that way.
Anyway, I don't know what I'm trying to say...
Happy Mother's Day...
I wish you were here...
I love holidays, more than any other days out of the year
(except, perhaps, the last day of school and Black Friday...)
but I'm having a hard time with this one.
I can't exactly say my mom and I had any mother's day traditions...
in fact, for the last two years, I didn't even celebrate with her.
But a mother is more than someone you buy a card for and mention on Facebook once a year.
Today, more than any other day, I have to be reminded that I'm missing yet another part of my life that most people get to have. I can't help but be a little jealous. :(
She's been gone for exactly 6 months.
I wonder what she'd think of me now...
I fully admit she'd spaz at the sight of my apartment...she was always so much cleaner than me.
Like the rest of my family, she'd probably be opposed to me moving again, because she saw how homesick I got last time...but UNLIKE the rest of my family, she'd still help me if she knew it was what I really wanted.
(Then again, if she was here, would I feel like I had to leave? Because I don't have any support here?)
She would be so proud of me that I finished the semester with a 3.5
She'd love how far I've gotten with my story...
I don't get the sudden urge to call her anymore.
Sometimes I just pretend she never existed, because it's easier that way.
Anyway, I don't know what I'm trying to say...
Happy Mother's Day...
I wish you were here...
Saturday, April 9, 2011
a self-reflection on good news
So, I got my acceptance letter to TN Tech today.
I have mixed feelings about it.
For one, I'm ECSTATIC at the fact I can get to see what a big state school is like...
in a town where the temperature doesn't get below 0 enough days out of the year to count...
I'm happy that I'll be closer to my Nashville friends...
one of which who will live close enough to visit me after school and hopefully be my shopping buddy. :)
I'm grateful to be able to live in an apartment with more space.
With more big cities close by, maybe I'll be able to go to a concert or something
[still have never been to one that wasn't sponsored by school...]
and I'll get to visit more states and get more rubber keychains. XD
I'm a little sad though, because it just proves that this town,
which I've wanted to live in since I was a tiny child,
has failed me.
I hate to admit to myself that it IS possible to live here for 9 months and still feel so lonely.
I know it by heart though...I could get to the mall with my eyes closed. XD
It sucks that I don't even get a goodbye party this time...
Not because of money or time or anything else...
only because I don't know enough people to throw me one. :\
I'll miss the feeling you get when the snow finally melts...
when you're on a high and the world could not possibly be more beautiful.
But I suppose that's what visits are for?
I have to keep thinking of the good things...
like having my cats back!!
Instead of that general feeling I get every single time I start over...
Wondering if I'm doing the right thing,
and hoping with all my heart things will finally get better.
I rather like the anonymity of being somewhere else every year, but I know what I'd like more.
The predictability of getting up in the morning in a safe neighborhood,
stepping out the door and not being hit on by bus-creatures...
After school, going shopping or to the movies with friends who are actually REAL friends,
(not just tolerating me to cure their own boredom),
and coming back to take Lola out for a walk on her leash.
That little picture is enough to keep me going for now.
BTW, here's a couple of my favorite travel songs. :)
I have mixed feelings about it.
For one, I'm ECSTATIC at the fact I can get to see what a big state school is like...
in a town where the temperature doesn't get below 0 enough days out of the year to count...
I'm happy that I'll be closer to my Nashville friends...
one of which who will live close enough to visit me after school and hopefully be my shopping buddy. :)
I'm grateful to be able to live in an apartment with more space.
With more big cities close by, maybe I'll be able to go to a concert or something
[still have never been to one that wasn't sponsored by school...]
and I'll get to visit more states and get more rubber keychains. XD
I'm a little sad though, because it just proves that this town,
which I've wanted to live in since I was a tiny child,
has failed me.
I hate to admit to myself that it IS possible to live here for 9 months and still feel so lonely.
I know it by heart though...I could get to the mall with my eyes closed. XD
It sucks that I don't even get a goodbye party this time...
Not because of money or time or anything else...
only because I don't know enough people to throw me one. :\
I'll miss the feeling you get when the snow finally melts...
when you're on a high and the world could not possibly be more beautiful.
But I suppose that's what visits are for?
I have to keep thinking of the good things...
like having my cats back!!
Instead of that general feeling I get every single time I start over...
Wondering if I'm doing the right thing,
and hoping with all my heart things will finally get better.
I rather like the anonymity of being somewhere else every year, but I know what I'd like more.
The predictability of getting up in the morning in a safe neighborhood,
stepping out the door and not being hit on by bus-creatures...
After school, going shopping or to the movies with friends who are actually REAL friends,
(not just tolerating me to cure their own boredom),
and coming back to take Lola out for a walk on her leash.
That little picture is enough to keep me going for now.
BTW, here's a couple of my favorite travel songs. :)
Sunday, March 27, 2011
& It's my heart I'll follow this time...
Some people might be confused about why I want to leave Minnesota again.
After all, the extent of which I hated Williamsburg is well known.
That hasn't changed. The college is still filled with lots of entitled rich kids while the town itself is falling down, there are no good stores in sight, no bus system, and no way of entertaining myself when nearly everyone goes home for the weekend.
I used to think anywhere south of Ohio and east of the central time zone line would be the same.
Then I went on this trip to Nashville. Maybe Nashville was just another city, but I fell in love with it. Being there just felt...right. Then I had to come back down to reality.
Living near Fargo (which is more of a 'big town' than a city) is expensive enough. There's no way I could find an apartment in Nashville at a price I can afford. If money was no issue, I'd probably be living in Chicago right now. I've felt drawn to that city even before I saw it for the first time.
Thinking logically, I clicked around on webpages for other nearby towns,
and I found one that looks right, only an hour away from Nashville. A friend that I met at the convention told me about the town she lives in. Rent is cheaper than I could have imagined for a town of its size, there is a good bus system and enough stores of all kinds to satisfy me.
The school there is one of the best public colleges in Tennessee.
I'm done filling out my application. I'll probably get in, but even if I don't, I'll probably still move there and take distance classes from home.
The thing that got me interested in TN Tech is their financial aid requirements.
I could qualify as an independent student if I could prove I had no financial support from my parent, which is easy enough to do. I pay everything...rent, bills, food, clothes, every thing I own these days, I've bought for myself somehow, and I could get in-state tuition if I can promise I will live there year-round and not go home for the summer.
What home? No family member of mine opens their house to me for 3 months of the year rent-free.
Even if one did, I LIKE apartment life. I don't want to go back to having just one room to myself. I've also fallen in love with the cute little 2 bedroom townhouses Mike & I could be living in for less than I'm paying now for this one bedroom in a sketchy part of town...
(Come on! My bike got stolen from our parking lot!) If he's working and I have money coming in, we could possibly even rent a house for ourselves. Either way, the kitties will have a yard to run around in.
Food is also cheaper in southern grocery stores, so even if I don't qualify for food stamps anymore, I can eat good, healthy meals more regularly. I will be happy because I can go outside at all months of the year, and not be afraid of freezing to death.
My anxiety will decrease because I won't have to constantly worry about snow making the buses late every day from November to March.
The friends I met (and reunited with in KY too) totally made the trip...
I can't imagine never visiting them more than once a year.
Old friends from college seem to genuinely want me to visit more than that. We had fun together.
The people here who think they can control my life will no longer be able to...
On this trip, I've learned that I'm a lot more independent than I thought I was.
This town doesn't need me, and I doubt my "family" would miss me much.
Why stay where I'm not needed?
I'm ready to find another new chapter of life on my own.
(and of course Mike will help.)
After all, the extent of which I hated Williamsburg is well known.
That hasn't changed. The college is still filled with lots of entitled rich kids while the town itself is falling down, there are no good stores in sight, no bus system, and no way of entertaining myself when nearly everyone goes home for the weekend.
I used to think anywhere south of Ohio and east of the central time zone line would be the same.
Then I went on this trip to Nashville. Maybe Nashville was just another city, but I fell in love with it. Being there just felt...right. Then I had to come back down to reality.
Living near Fargo (which is more of a 'big town' than a city) is expensive enough. There's no way I could find an apartment in Nashville at a price I can afford. If money was no issue, I'd probably be living in Chicago right now. I've felt drawn to that city even before I saw it for the first time.
Thinking logically, I clicked around on webpages for other nearby towns,
and I found one that looks right, only an hour away from Nashville. A friend that I met at the convention told me about the town she lives in. Rent is cheaper than I could have imagined for a town of its size, there is a good bus system and enough stores of all kinds to satisfy me.
The school there is one of the best public colleges in Tennessee.
I'm done filling out my application. I'll probably get in, but even if I don't, I'll probably still move there and take distance classes from home.
The thing that got me interested in TN Tech is their financial aid requirements.
I could qualify as an independent student if I could prove I had no financial support from my parent, which is easy enough to do. I pay everything...rent, bills, food, clothes, every thing I own these days, I've bought for myself somehow, and I could get in-state tuition if I can promise I will live there year-round and not go home for the summer.
What home? No family member of mine opens their house to me for 3 months of the year rent-free.
Even if one did, I LIKE apartment life. I don't want to go back to having just one room to myself. I've also fallen in love with the cute little 2 bedroom townhouses Mike & I could be living in for less than I'm paying now for this one bedroom in a sketchy part of town...
(Come on! My bike got stolen from our parking lot!) If he's working and I have money coming in, we could possibly even rent a house for ourselves. Either way, the kitties will have a yard to run around in.
Food is also cheaper in southern grocery stores, so even if I don't qualify for food stamps anymore, I can eat good, healthy meals more regularly. I will be happy because I can go outside at all months of the year, and not be afraid of freezing to death.
My anxiety will decrease because I won't have to constantly worry about snow making the buses late every day from November to March.
The friends I met (and reunited with in KY too) totally made the trip...
I can't imagine never visiting them more than once a year.
Old friends from college seem to genuinely want me to visit more than that. We had fun together.
The people here who think they can control my life will no longer be able to...
On this trip, I've learned that I'm a lot more independent than I thought I was.
This town doesn't need me, and I doubt my "family" would miss me much.
Why stay where I'm not needed?
I'm ready to find another new chapter of life on my own.
(and of course Mike will help.)
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