I started moving out of my

mother's house last weekend.

I know that some of you must be thinking that it is about time, being

a 25-year-old and having a job that doesn't include food service

(much), but the truth of the matter is that I lived on my own for four

years in Athens, with minimal assistance from my parents. These past two

years have been a wonderful break.

I loved my places of residence in Athens, though, despite their shortcomings.

In my sophomore year at UGA, I lived with three friends at an apartment

complex called Players Club. There were hundreds of apartments with dishwashers,

washers and dryers, a tennis court and a pool. Apartments on the second

floor, like mine, had four bedrooms, vaulted ceilings and the tiniest

kitchen known to man. Only two people could be in the kitchen at one time

and one of them had to not breathe or move.

My friends and I would often sit on our balcony and watch fireflies dart

in and out of the forest that was our backyard. We had friends in the

complex that we visited all the time and we hosted our fair share of parties.

I met hundreds of people in the complex that year, but at the end of the

lease my friends and I vacated the premises.

The next place that I lived was a house on the opposite side of town.

I moved there with one of my roommates and one of our friends from Players

Club. The house was great. It had hardwood floors, a big kitchen, and

a huge backyard. Our next door neighbors were heads of the Neighborhood

Watch program and the owners of a lawn mower. We paid our neighbor to

mow our lawn and things were great.

The neighborhood was kind of sketchy. At night, there were dangerous noises,

but we played it safe. We always seemed to have something going on at

all hours of the night and I think that may have kept the lurkers, if

there were any, away. After all, we were poor college students, living

in an inexpensive area. Why rob us?

Though we all loved the house on Knottingham Drive, we had to leave at

the end of the lease. There were internal struggles with the people I

was living with and it was just time for us to go our separate ways. I

needed to find a place quickly, so I moved in with some friends to an

apartment complex nearby called Tallassee Club Villas.

This apartment was very comfortable. The bedrooms were big, the kitchen

was a decent size and I had a bathroom all to myself, which I'm sure

pleased my roommates immensely. We had a cool front porch area, a pool

and a convenience store right down the street. It was a great place and

I stayed there for two years.

And then it was over.

My roommates were getting a house outside of Athens and I really needed

to get out of town. I was done with school and I needed to get a real

job (still looking - just kidding).

My mom told me about an opening at the newspaper back home and I went

for it. Of course, living on your own in Fayette County can be kind of

expensive, so for the last two years I have paid a minimal amount of rent

and stayed at my mom's house. I took the second largest bedroom,

enjoyed home-cooked meals every night and relaxed.

Now, I am moving out of Peachtree City and getting an apartment in Fayetteville.

It is a two bedroom townhouse and I have a very nice roommate. It is a

nice place, with a large kitchen and two bathrooms, and I plan on making

it nicer, making it a home. It will be good to be on my own, have absolute

peace and quiet, and exercise my independence. Of course, I can always

go home for a home-cooked meal every now and then.

Back

to the Top of the Page