When you are young and you leave your house for the first time (usually to go to college), you expect things to go smoothly. No 18-year-old expects to end up homeless while in college. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened to me.
My mom and step-dad decided to get an RV and travel across the country during the first week of January 2012. The last semester before I got my associate's degree. Originally, I stayed with a friend at her house until her mom ended up kicking me out.
After that, I spent about a month with a friend from high school and her friend who had a daughter under the age of one. We were all staying in a hotel room with one bed. This worked out until all of our best intentions clashed due to priority issues, and the rooming situation crumbled.
I spent a night in a bus terminal with only part of my belongings and I knew I had to do something. I reached out for help from the Covenant House of Atlantic City. I spent the next two and a half years homeless, only having a steady place to stay for three semesters after transferring to my four-year school.
While being homeless, I learned a lot about what it means to get through the tough parts of life, and who I needed to be in order to survive.
1. Don't be afraid to ask for help.
When you are down and you think you're out of the game, don't be afraid or too proud to ask for help. You never know who will be there to help you. If I hadn't asked for help and reached out when I did, I would have had to give up my dream of completing college and would probably still be on the street today.
2. Surround yourself with people who will support you.
They may be hard to come by and they may not be who you expect to be there in your times of trouble, but they are the people you need. I lost a lot of friends while I was homeless because I had to focus more on getting myself in a better life position, which meant pretty much working and going to school. I had no time for friends and they didn't understand. I became closest with some friends I made at the Covenant House and some of the staff members, and that is how I got through. I had people building me up and motivating me instead of encouraging me to give up and slack off on my goals.
3. Never lose hope for yourself.
It may seem impossible, but you cannot lose hope in yourself, your life, your ability to overcome, or even just your smallest goals. If you lose hope, you give up, and if you give up, you have regrets. You get stuck. It gets really hard but hold on, because it will be worth it in the end. Trust me.
4. What doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
It might be cliché but this is the best lesson I learned from being homeless. I learned that I will have struggles in my life and I will have setbacks, but being able to overcome them and being able to pull through is what makes me the strong person that I am today. I wholeheartedly believe in this lesson and I don't care who knows it. You will struggle at some point and you will get through it and when you do you will be able to handle it over and over again. Because you've already done it.
Being homeless is one of the many struggles I have had to face during my time in college. I am 23. I can say that I used to be homeless, and it is a part of who I am today. My experiences have shaped me and have made it possible for me to become the humble, kindhearted and warm person that I am today.
