I don’t know much. At least I know I don’t know much. Life takes twists and turns that seemed impossible only days before. Now, more than any other time in my life, I am uncertain what tomorrow brings.
Over the past year and a half I’ve lived with my sister, my grandmother, my fiance and then with my fiance in a tent. Finally, I’m with my fiance in an apartment. But I haven’t paid one dime in rent for two months so I’m about ready to haul the tent out of storage.
I don’t know why homelessness and financial devastation happened to me. However, after living through it, I empathize more thoroughly with victims of domestic violence who leave their abusers while having no money of their own. Thank you, Kassandra, for pointing out that this trial is also a blessing. I choose to believe this crisis point in my life came about to teach me valuable lessons in empathy and resourcefulness that will prove beneficial when The Emergency Fund, Inc. gets going.
I do not blame anyone for my financial problems. I cannot rightly blame myself because hindsight reveals no errors on my part. The money I had went for needed purposes. Except I wish I’d bought a car for myself before I bought one for a family member who promptly stopped helping me after receiving the car. This family member also gave me the tent (for which I was surprisingly grateful). That is an expensive lesson to learn again – take care of myself first. Maybe I’ll remember it from here on out.
Except for the money spent on my family member’s car, I responsibly managed my finances. Eventually, I had no finances to manage.
And there is where this chapter in my life begins.