By Ms. Alexis
There I was, alone in Atlanta, and homeless. I didn’t have any money, I didn’t have any family, and my social circle was very limited, but for some reason, I wasn’t afraid of what the future held for me because I believed within my heart that I would be okay. My faith in God wouldn’t let me have it no other way.
Within an hour of me leaving my friend’s home, the same guy who sent me the $150 to move to Atlanta had called me up. He and I were cordial but we didn’t talk consistently. How timely was it that he was calling me up after all of that drama that had gone down between my friend and I? To top it off, I was hungry and he was asking me out to lunch. Immediately, I began to shed light on the recent chain of events. And with him being the friend he was, he told me I could stay with him. How awesome God was! I now had a place to go to. Granted, I wasn’t as comfortable with staying with him, but it was still better than having no place to go at all.
The first few nights were very difficult. I wasn’t comfortable. My friend and I were still going back and forth and I was just caught up in the wrong things. At that time, I was still financially dependent on my friend. Therefore, I had to play the role. I would do whatever I had to do to get gas, have money for food, and to maintain. At night, I would go back to “Sean’s” house and sleep in my own bed, had my own room, and enjoyed my space. But during the day, I was going over to “Mike’s” to get money. I was essentially using Mike to get gas money to travel to interviews.
My arrangement went pretty good with Sean for the most part. We agreed that I could stay with him as long as I was actively looking for a job. Anything after a month would result in me having to start to pay rent. Essentially, his home became a shelter for me. I was able to stay with him at night but during the day I was on my own. And when he went out of town, I was looking for another place to stay. Again, I didn’t tell anyone what was going on. Instead, I would sleep in my car when I didn’t have any place to go. Don’t get me wrong, I fully understand and respect his decision since he didn’t know me from Adam to Eve. But it was also very trying for me because it was over 90 degrees outside and here I was trying to sleep in my car. I became so sleep deprived that I would hallucinate.
Anywhere I could sleep and shower, I became grateful for, and sadly, I’d rather live this life style than to give up and go home. Why? I believed in myself. I had faith that if I could only get past this point in my life then I would be okay. And I would. But not without sacrificing everything I believed in first.
Follow us on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/planetill
Follow Ms. Alexis on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/iammsalexis
Join Us on the Planet Ill Facebook Group for more discussion
