Been Here All Along

26| move-in

"Always find a way to look on the bright side even if there's a mountain in your way." - E.D.

*3 years ago*

   I plopped down my final box of belongings onto the floor of the living area of mine and Kaila's new apartment.

   Move in day — the day we have been awaiting all school year. With the spring semester of our first year at the University of Miami finally over, we were moved out of our dorm and into our apartment.

   Conveniently, our complex is equidistant from Westchester and school. This beats living on campus by a long shot because we are saving money and time. Our college was a solid 25 minute drive to Westchester.

   Our 8am shifts were obviously the worst.

   "This is absolutely insane," Kaila sighed, taking in the scene of our home for the next who knows how long. At the very least, the three years while we are still in school.

   "A dream come true, really."

   Every pair of childhood best friends talk about how one day they will share a crazy awesome apartment with their best friend. They plan the location, the theme, the decorations, everything. It doesn't always become reality though, just dreams of two young kids.
   This is our reality though. Just like I dreamed about when I was 12 years old, Kaila and I are finally living together.

   We sat on the couch that was a gift from my parents. They said they've been wanting a new one, so this was a good excuse to finally go through with the purchase. It's of pretty good quality too, probably only 4 years old.

   Truth be told, we could've been more prepared for move in day. We don't have our bed frames here yet, but we have mattresses. If we could only have one of the pair, I'm glad it's the mattress though. We don't have an actual fridge, just the mini fridge from my college dorm. The size doesn't matter much because we don't even have groceries to go in it.

   Adulting is not as much fun as it looks.

   "Wow," Kaila sighed yet again. "This is really happening, Jos. We are living together, on our own. No parents, no dorm supervisors. Just us."

   "Our parents are probably terrified for us," I laughed.

   Individually, Kaila and I are pretty normal. However, when we are together, we turn into literal crackheads and Grade A klutzes. There was one time when we were probably like 14, and we were playing basketball in Kaila's driveway. We needed to set the basketball hoop up and her dad told us to do it ourselves. We were pulling it out into the driveway when it got too heavy for me to hold so I let go for a second, and it ended up falling on top of Kaila. Needless to say, we both sat in the driveway, laughing so hard we peed our pants.

   "I think we will get the hang of it in no time." Kaila held out her fist for a fist bump, which I returned.

   I didn't think I'd be able to handle living in a small dorm with a complete stranger, but I ended up meeting Cara, and we got along great. Within no time, living without constant adult supervision became my preferred norm.

   Honestly, living away from home has been nothing but beneficial for me, considering I didn't have the most ideal home life. Obviously it could've been a thousand times worse, but it was still not a stable household. After everything with Ian leaving, living in an environment with two parents who were constantly tense because they couldn't stand each other and pitied me too much to argue in front of me was not healthy for me at all. Living with Cara took an entire burden off my chest.