With only 30 days left until we enter into 2019 and 37 days (7th January 2019) until I turn 42 (my god I am getting so old) it is now time to begin making some major changes with my life. I have been living in the past for so long now. Ever since I was 14 years old when I was no longer living with my parents (for reasons that I am not going into at this time) my life has been pretty much one where I have been living on the streets. However all that changes about 11 months ago and even though there has been some major struggles, and there still is. I have stuck it out and I am glad that I have. I no longer call myself homeless. And that now means that it is time to make changes. And they aren’t going to be minor ones (not for me anyway). The changes that I need to make may means nothing to you, they may be things you are used to … But for me living on the street for more then 2 decades has made even the simple tasks for hard. So let’s begin shall we?
Whilst living on the streets it is hard to shower on a daily basis. You can go for a swim at the beach, which I did a lot. However sometimes that is so bloody cold, especially in winter. So you could go days, or in some cases even weeks without having access to a shower. And even know I am now living in a unit it is hard for me to get into a routine knowing that I have a shower, that I can use as much as I want, whenever I want. I have been going several days without showering but that now needs to change. I want to get into a routine where I am showering at least once, or maybe twice every single day without fail. As I mentioned before, this might be hard for some people to understand, but unless you have lived my life or been homeless you really might not understand what it is like.
Whilst sleeping rough you also don’t need to worry about clothes washing (you just get new clothes from a secondhand store and then throw the ones your wearing in the bin), washing dishes, cleaning your unit, changing your sheets, vacuuming you floor, etc etc etc. I also now need to get myself into a routine where I am cleaning on a regular basis, at least every couple of days. I now have a place to live and I want it to be a home. Not just a place to crash, wish is how I really have been treating it. It is so hard to admit that I have a home, I am no longer homeless. I am no longer a piece of gutter trash (even though I am told by certain people that I still am and that nothing will change that).
I know that the road ahead is not going to be an easy one. There will be speed bumps along the way. There will be very large mountains to climb. But I have support from some good friends, both here in Australia and several people overseas (even though I never see them, we still talk). I have some good friends in the United States who are like family, Jonathan, Miranda, Kari and several others. I also have a great friend in the United Kingdom, Craig your the best (unless your pissing me off with the quote system 🙂 ). And of course here in Australia, I have Joanne, Anthony, Tony, Steve, Mitch and Aaron. As well as a few others. Thank you all for your support and being my friend.
I am going to need the support of my friends more then ever as I take on this next adventure in my life. It’s time for change. It’s time to actually start living. I deserve to have a life. I deserve to be me. It’s time for change …
