Five years ago I was living in Silver Spring, Maryland operating off of some off-brand hope and half of a prayer. A couple years prior I had what I thought was a solid plan that consisted of moving back to Chocolate City and finishing my bachelor’s where I had started (the illustrious Howard University). It all began fine but started to roll downhill when I somehow ended up with a tuition balance that financial aid didn’t cover. I had been working part-time since I was 14 while also attending school so I thought I’d be able to pull it off like I always did. What I didn’t factor in were all the aspects of adulthood like rent, groceries, personal necessities, and basically everything else that I needed that was normally provided by my family before I ventured off across the country on my own.
Hitting Rock Bottom
I ended up taking a couple of low paying jobs thinking I could put a dent in the debt that I’d started to acquire. I ended up having to put my education on pause because I wouldn’t be able to enroll until my balance was paid off. I was also living far from the city and everything I had been excited about moving back to. Life came at me fast and hard. Instead of rolling with the punches I did what any person with a whole bunch of Cancer placements would do — I let life’s blows knock me down, retreated into my…
