My Own Place

            Every teenager comes to a point when they want to move out of their parent's house. For many this takes place when they go away to college, but for many others the decision is made so they can have more freedom. Regardless of the reason someone decided on moving out on their own the changes take place very drastically. When I turned eighteen I decided that I wanted to spread my wings and move out of my mom's house. Little did I know how different it would be living on my own, and here I am a year and a half later back at my mom's. This decision meant a lot to me because even though I loved being on my own, it was harder then I ever imagined.
             Living at home with my mom meant I was in charge of paying my car payment and that was it. This meant that the rest of my paycheck each week was used for whatever I wanted. Going to the mall and buying an outfit or two was something I became very used to. Having extra cash didn't seem so important until I had to live without it. Simple things like getting my hair done came so easy when I lived at home that I never imagined a time where things would be any different. Even if I needed some extra spending money my mom was always there to lend me some. My mom always bought all the groceries and cleaning supplies. Experience in using my own money to buy necessities was something I lacked. .
             In my mind going to college meant that I needed to be on my own and pay my own bills. Money was probably the biggest, hardest part of moving out of my mom's house. Even though I was just living in a two bedroom apartment, the rent alone took almost my whole paycheck each month. Money is something I was used to having plenty of because I never had anything to pay for when I lived with my mom. For some reason I thought it was going to be so easy. I mean how hard can it be to pay rent and a car payment? After looking back on my initial thoughts I can now see how nave I was because rent is not all that I was responsible for.