To the people who write the articles about Millennials and older Gen Zers not leaving their childhood homes and ruining the… house buying market (or something?) I present myself. You all will be happy to note that I do not still live in my childhood home. I don’t have one. Ironically, I am living in my best friend’s childhood home, sorry if that still contributes to my generation fucking up the world one unsold house at a time.
I guess you could consider my grandma’s house my version of a childhood home. It’s been in the family since my mother was two. Whenever my mother and I were invited to leave our temporary residence, my grandma’s house is where we would run to. When I was twenty, my grandma tells me I could stay with her. My mother and I were invited to leave our house again.
And I’m like, well this is great. I know my grandma’s house and I’m comfortable. Most importantly, it’s secure. There’s only so many times you can watch your mom break into your own apartment because the landlord locked the doors but all of your shit is still in there.
…Okay, it was only once. But that traumatized me enough for years of therapy.
Staying at my grandma’s house would be great. Maybe I can finally get some stability and consistency in my life, you know? Maybe some permanence or whatever. I mean, of course eventually I’ll have to find somewhere on my own to go but my grandma promised I could stay there while I finish school. Since I’d just (re)started, I was solid for a while.
Except I guess my grandma thought I was in a two-year program. Top of my fourth semester, my grandma announces to me she was giving the house to my cousin and moving into a one bedroom apartment. So… I had to figure something out. Unless I could make it work staying in her closet. And I considered it.
My thing was, being twenty-one with no savings and a job that barely paid over minimum wage, I think you can imagine I was concerned about where I might end up. So my best friend offered that I stay with her. And that’s where I went. It’s great fun, although maybe staying together while in school isn’t the best idea considering we’re always distracting ourselves from doing the shit we need to do. Hence why it’s 7:27am and I’m just finishing this assignment before the 10am class it’s due for. But at least I have a roof over my head, it was kind of touch and go there for a second.
Constantly getting tossed around like a hot potato has led to some pretty fun issues and insecurities. Like my inability to feel comfortable in any home. Or how I’ve been waiting for my best friend to pull the rug from under my feet and tell me to find somewhere else to go. I have this new thing where I feel as though I occupy too much space, maybe that’s why no one knows what to do with me.
My friend says I can stay with her for as long as I want or need. I can even stay through school and after if I want. It’s only been around seven months though, so we’ll see how long it takes for her to get tired of me.