That time when I started sophomore year of college homeless
Written By: Gen Nguyen | Read full profile
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Listen to the audio version of the blog:
Why can’t you hear a pterodactyl go to the bathroom?
At the beginning of sophomore year college, I was homeless. No, I didn’t live on the streets in a tent under the highway. Luckily, my friend at the time housed me. But let’s rewind a bit before this incident so you get a better understanding of HOW and WHY I became homeless.
Flashback to freshman year college. Going in, I didn’t have very many friends, and I didn’t know how to make any either. Literally, I had trouble trying to hold a conversation and talking to people. So I didn’t have any motivation to look for housing or roommates. That was until my parents pestered me to look for housing or to apply for the dorms.
I didn’t realize this, but you’re supposed to find housing WAY before the end of the year, specifically, during the first semester (September/October). And why didn’t I know this? Because I was a young, naive child who did not yet know how to fend for herself. But sometime in April, my parents came up to Austin to help me search for a space I could call “home” for another year. After looking at a bunch of showrooms, I ended up picking a space that I liked, and BONUS they had Smart Housing too. (For those who don’t know, Smart Housing is a program that’ll help students who need financial assistance when renting an apartment. Basically, if you qualify, you get a reduced fee.)
I’ll put a picture of the floorplan that I had signed up for. You see room B, the “bedroom”/study? There’s no window in the room, else you’ll be looking at the people in the hallway. And the washer/dryer is in there AS WELL AS the HVAC unit. Doesn’t seem like a comfortable living space huh? Well, that was going to be my room. But, I didn’t know that until move-in day in August. Smh you dumb child, Gen.
Basically, my parents (and brother) were furious that I had to live in a place that could possibly deteriorate my health anymore than I have done already, so they told me to live someplace else and to sublease this one. Luckily, but unluckily, one of my friends was moving away, so I asked if I could rent out her apartment (which was my forever “home” til the end of college). But I asked late and with the whole Hurricane Harvey situation that was going on, they weren’t able to fully move out and rent me the apartment until two weeks into the semester. Melissa, if you’re reading this, big thanks to you and your mom.
I ended up finding someone to sublease my crappy apartment (which will not be named but it’s on 21st and Rio Grande St) before the semester started. Thank god. But like I said, I wasn’t able to move into my new apartment until two weeks into the semester. So, I was “homeless” for those two weeks. Or, I guess you could say I was couchsurfing. I commuted to and from Houston on the weekends, stayed at someone’s apartment on the weekdays. Not ideal, but it worked.
Lesson learned: make sure to find housing early on or make friends who you can room with. And don’t assume you’ll get the window room you want because you filled out the application saying you’re claustrophobic. Or just go to a school closer to home… you’ll definitely have housing and free food. Answer: Because the P(ee) is silent
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