Well, I moved into my first apartment recently and even though I will have roommates in the fall when school begins, I'm on my own for the whole summer. I've always talked about living alone and how much freedom I would have and how it would be super amazing to do anything I wanted all the time. Wow, was I wrong! Yes, it is great to be able to do what you want but I have realized over this past week that I am a people person through and through and I really struggle when problems arise and I have no one around me to help. This week has been a whirlwind and I am extremely glad that I was able to succeed at the end of it, but the journey to becoming comfortable with this new living situation was something I hope brightens your day or helps you realize its okay not to know what you're doing and have to figure it out as you go.

Let's start off the week with move-in day . . .

Saturday

After packing my car up to the brim with things I needed to move in, my little cousin and I made our way on the two-hour drive to my new home. Finally, we got to my apartment complex and went to the office to get the information I needed and my keys. It was now time to open the door to my new place of residence. The door of the apartment looks a little beat up, as it probably would considering this is a college apartment and people are nuts, but I eagerly entered with my little cousin by my side. It wasn't really what I was expecting but it is nice and spacious all the same. The renewal residents left some things here over the summer and some of the cabinets are still a little dirty, so I decide that I'll need to deep clean before I put anything away. We start bringing all of my things into the apartment and my mother arrives with the rest of my things. I realize that I have so much stuff and it is still scattered around the apartment. The mess is giving me anxiety. The puppy is very cautious of the new home for her. It is now very late and my family is leaving. I decided that I should probably go to sleep and rest before putting more things away tomorrow.

Sunday

The puppy woke me up at 3:45 in the morning today. I didn't sleep well, to begin with, and this was the cherry on top. I am very cranky this morning. I got up to take the puppy outside and decide to try to go to the office later to ask about how to set up the cable and WiFi in my apartment because neither of the two was working for me. I went down at around 8 am to see if I could get any help, but the office didn't open until 10. I made my way back upstairs to put some things away. I had cleaned out the cabinets and thought putting the dishes away would be nice. I also thought that it would be a good idea to run them through the dishwasher before I put them away. Everything seemed to be going well and I had no trouble using the appliances that were in the apartment. I was able to put all of my dishes and kitchen items away. The only issue I had was that the accumulation of cardboard boxes was more than I had ever experienced in my lifetime. I saw that this would be an issue. I went to the office because by this time it was around 11 and there were people lined up out the door trying to move in. I figured I could just come back later. I went along my day, tried to go back to the office later and saw that there were still way too many people in the lobby and decided to try on Monday.

Monday

Lily, the puppy, waited until six in the morning to wake me this time and I woke up in a better mood. I started my online class today but I still don't have WiFi so I decided to call the helpline number I was provided. I dialed up the number and was met with a voice telling me that the number was probably typed wrong and I needed to try again. The number was not typed wrong and to make sure, I even went to the website of the company and clicked the direct phone number link. I was met with the same message as before. So, I tried their 24-hour live chat. I was met with 30 minutes of waiting just to not be helped. I tried once more and finally got to someone. The woman was absolutely no help at all and here I was, needing to do my online class without having any internet to do so. I went down to the office and they told me I needed to purchase a router for my internet to work, which never dealing with this before I did not know. This would be another night without WiFi because I did not have money to go buy a router nor did I know what to buy in terms of the said router. The cardboard was still chilling in the kitchen.

Tuesday

Today was my first day of work at the box office for the summer. It felt so nice being back to something familiar. I missed my friends and my boss so much and I was excited to start working again. I made a bunch of phone calls and everything felt good. Then I went back to my apartment and was hit with the fact that I still needed a router. I made my way to WalMart, where they had three routers and they were all over $100. I did not want to pay this much for a router, so I called my mom as any confused 20-year-old would do. She said that they had routers at Best Buy and that the people there would probably be more helpful. She was right. The Best Buy employees showed me a router that was $70 and would be enough to power what I needed it to. Thank God for the cute men that worked at Best Buy. I then went to Jewel to purchase some meat and other groceries for myself. I got back to my apartment, took the dog out and sat down to install my router. I am not very skilled when it comes to tech-related things, but to my surprise, I was able to install the router without any issues. I feel like an adult.

Wednesday

I spent most of the day putting things away. I finally started hanging up my clothes and did laundry for the first time in the apartment, which makes me feel like I have my life sort of together. The cardboard in the kitchen is still there and still giving me anxiety but I know where the recycle bin is and I decided to start breaking the cardboard down and putting it in my car so I can just drive it down to the bin. I am feeling a lot better about this whole living on my own thing and I feel like I am finally starting to understand how to do this on my own. I have enough food to feed me, I know how to use everything in the apartment, my dog is getting more comfortable and I am starting to feel the stress and anxiety melt away. Things can only get better from here.

Thursday

I gave my dog a bath for the first time today. She is absolutely crazy and hated every second of it. It gives me another excuse to deep clean my bathroom again, which honestly makes me very happy. I started bringing the cardboard down today and it is slowly clearing out my kitchen. There is less and less anxiety as the days go on. I'm starting to like this, it is starting to feel better.

Friday

I had to go home today because Lily has an appointment at the vet on Saturday for her shots and I wanted to make sure we weren't driving too much on Saturday going back and forth. It feels weird leaving the apartment that I have been trying to make feel like home, but I am excited to see my family and tell them about everything.

Saturday

We took Lily to the vet and she got all her shots she needed, so she is ready for puppy class tomorrow. We went back to my apartment and my mother and cousin came with me to spend the night. They said they were gonna help put some things away if I had any left. My apartment is clean and it feels like I wanted it to. It finally feels like a home. Yes, I do want to make a few more adjustments, but I love it more and more every day.

That was my week. As crazy as it started, it ended with me understanding that I made the right choice and I can do anything I set my mind to. Living on your own is frightening but it is an adjustment to get used to and I think that it is one of the greatest life lessons I have had thus far in my life.