New Beginning

Mackenzie Kenney

Fangmann

Creative Writing; Block 5

15 September 2020

New Beginnings

Hello, my name is Logan. I am 17 years old, and today is the start of a new chapter in my life, I guess we should start from the beginning. I was born in Geneva, New York, and I’ve been here ever since..

I had a boring childhood, my parents were never  around. They were busy working and paying off bills. By the time I was in middle school, I was basically staying at home alone all the time. ll I had was my mom and my cat, Rory. My dad worked out of state, I only see him twice a year. We don’t talk much, my mom is a nurse’s assistant at a hospital, full time. I am thankful for all that they do, of course. Sometimes I just wish they would be around more. I get along fine with my mom, but I honestly think she’s been expecting me to end up like her all my life. She graduated high school and when she didn’t know what else to do, she went through a CNA course and has been doing that ever since. 

I don’t blame her completely. Her parents never encouraged her to do right, and make something out of herself She thought that there was nothing for her in life, she is like this with me because she does not really know me that well. I have my own interests and dreams and she’s prepared for me to fail. I have my own hobbies, get good grades in school, and am very determined to go to college. My mom always told me, “If you don’t have a plan, I can help you. You can come work with me.” I never got the chance to express myself to her about what I want to do. 

Before I graduated high school, I told my mom that I got accepted into a community college in a nearby city, Rochester, New York. It’s an hour away from where I live, two hours with traffic. I loved going to Rochester when I was younger. My elementary school would take day trips there all the time. My favorite thing to do there was going to the Seneca Zoo. My friends and I would be in a group and go through the whole zoo and have fun. I always dreamed of living in an apartment there and living in the city. 

 I got accepted to the community college there, I was really excited. Since I had been planning to move when I got into college, I started saving all of the money I could. Thankfully, I was blessed with already having a good car. So, transportation was handled. I already had a job in a nearby town in between Rochester and Geneva, I was a waitress at a cafe. I also found an apartment that was a little out of my budget. The landlord and I agreed on an arrangement until I could figure out how to pay the rest of it. 

I was very proud of myself that I had everything handled. My mom was very worried though. Which is understandable, but I wish she had a little more faith in me. We even got into a fight about everything before I left. That’s why I want to prove to her that I can do this on my own, that I can make it in this world without taking the easy way out. I thought I had everything figured out until a few days before I was supposed to move. The landlord called and, “Hey, I’m sorry about the late notice. Some things came up with my family, and I can’t go through with the agreement we had.” I couldn’t do anything about it. 

So, I booked a cheap hotel room for a week hoping I would be able to find another apartment quickly. Things didn’t go as planned. I found a lot of apartments that were out of my price range, none of the landlords would work with me on a payment plan. I was so busy with trying to find an apartment that I missed work one too many times and sadly, lost my job. I was just too busy, I didn’t realize how much I was screwing myself over. So, only a couple weeks into being on my own, and I don’t have a place to live and now I no longer have a source of income. I refused to tell my mom, I didn't want to give her that satisfaction.

So, now I was faced with finding out how I was going to live and school starting in a few weeks. Not to mention Rory was cooped up in a small hotel all day, I felt horrible.  I first started with finding a new job. I applied at multiple places, trying to avoid fast food at all costs.  I explained to them my situation and the busy schedule that I would have with school but they declined me saying that they needed a more committed person for the job, it’s crazy. After getting my last decline of a job, I broke down. I started walking around the city until I got to a cafe to sit and sulk at. I was trying to hide myself crying by pretending to check my phone but someone noticed me. 

This worker sitting at the table across from me started to walk over. She had some crazy, curly brown hair and was tall and petite. I read her name tag as she sat down in front of me, Mavis. When she sat down, she said, “ Tough day, huh?” I nodded and started wiping my face with my jacket sleeve. We got to talking and I figured out she’s an actual life saver. I told everything that was going on with my living situation. Surprisingly, she said, “Oh! I can help you, don’t worry. My old roommate just moved out and I’ve been needing a new one. I was actually about to post flyers around town, I’m pretty desperate.” I was so relieved, of course I accepted and we made plans for her to help me move in. Mavis even told me about a few small shops offering jobs. Everything was finally working out, just in time for classes too. I am beyond thankful for everything she’s helped me with so far. Who knew you could find a new best friend in the middle of a mental breakdown.