Congratulations! You have been accepted into the Fall 2014 semester at California State University Fullerton.
I was ecstatic! Finally, after 21 years of, “My house, my rules.” I would be free. Free from having to tell people when I’m heading out or when I’d be home (which as a 21 year old Marine seemed ridiculous), free from the nagging of two younger brothers, and free from people ignorant to the concept of privacy. Immediately, I began to think big! Of course my first place would be just me, on my own, no rules, no authority, no worries. I would come and go as I pleased, doing what I want, when I want, with all the luxuries of home, but none of the sharing. Perfect!
That was late March. It took less than a month to realize how wrong I was. As it turns out, things cost money, and my utopian fantasy quickly gave way to real expectations.
A quick Google search for “apartments near Fulleron, CA” revealed I was moving to an expensive area, so living on my own wasn’t really an option. The next bubble burst was realizing that living in an apartment with roommates meant that I would not be “on my own, no rules, no authority, no worries.” Then I began to panic. How I was supposed to afford rent, a car, utilities, and luxuries? Something had to go, but it could not be rent because, well, I needed somewhere to live. I needed a car to take me to school, work, and (inevitably) home from time to time. Utilities were an unfortunate necessity, so I had to swallow my hopes and dreams and began deciding what I didn’t absolutely need.
I was fortunate (and forever grateful) enough to have earned a two-year Veteran Scholarship to the college so I had that huge financial burden lifted. My main expenses would be paying off my car and rent. The roommate situation caused me to go to social media to see if anyone I knew was heading the same way as me. Fortunately, a couple of friends of mine had also been accepted to Fullerton and were looking for a third. They had already begun looking at places and were happy and willing to accept me as their third. It made things easier knowing how many roommates I’d have and what kind of apartment we needed. 2 bed, 2 bath. Did I mention my roommates were a couple?
Although the idea of moving was not what I initially thought, I am excited for the challenge and embrace the new set of responsibilities with open arms. Now I just need to juggle apartment hunting with my new roommates and finals. Wish me luck!
