Ack, just reading that reminded me of a creative writing retreat thing I did at the same age - thankfully only for a long weekend, as all I remember from it was it being a hothouse environment for tension, friendships falling apart, incredible amounts of Romantic Friendship and confusion about sexuality...very awkward stuff. I can very much imagine what that semester might have been like, and yeah, can see how the memories might not always be good ones :s I can't think back on that weekend without cringing, oh god - for me it was right at a time when a) I was seriously depressed, b) trying to deal with an enormous crush on a new friend, also on the retreat, and c) trying to deal with the dynamics of my close, long-term friendship group all shifting about. Not Good.
I'm glad your current parental situation's working out for you :) I hear you on the financial difficulty, though, definitely - it's mostly sorted itself out by now, but when Mum and Dad first split up Mum was completely screwed, money-wise, and with her we lived on very, very little for a good few years. I imagine it's really difficult to adjust to shouldering the different financial burdens, especially if you've been married a long time (which I think my parents were, actually; they were certainly together for ten years before they had me, idk how much of that they were married for).
Oh gosh, I can just imagine it. D: Mine was more to do with a combination of excessive pride/ego and low self esteem (funny how they go hand in hand!) and a few friends with depressive illnesses... it was my first encounter with anything like it and how we all managed it as friends is really embarassing, when I looked back. I was also super creative and energetic back then... ...I can't believe I'm having an 'ah, youth' conversation. ;)
Did one of your parents keep the original house? My mother was the one to move out, and I remember the new place she found, eating dinner on the floor with plastic forks while watching TV (the #1 priority, naturally). It was strange but also kind of exciting... I don't think I took it as bad as my sister did. The house we're in now is the one she finally bought, after two rental properties. It's my favourite, too, not only because I have a little en-suite. ;)
Haha, I actually found myself the other day wishing I was back in sixth-form again - just thinking that made me feel so old XD
My mum kept the house at first - but then couldn't afford the mortgage payments by herself, so Dad took it back (he's still there now, actually) and she moved out instead. With Mum, we then lived in a string of rental properties until we found a house we could actually afford to buy - which meant we then spent a few years in an ex-council house in one of the very deprived areas on the Wirral. During that time, Mum was working unsalaried in local government, and honestly I have no idea where she got any money from at all, so we were pretty poor for a few years. Then she got her current job, which is a management position, and she moved back near my sister's and my secondary school, which is a fairly affluent area. I actually really enjoyed all the moving around - it probably helped, I suppose, that the whole time my dad remained pretty well off, so I never really had much experience of being genuinely deprived. It was just a series of new house adventures to me at the time. The most exciting one as I remember it was the first one my dad moved out into, I suppose because it corresponded to the first I'm Going To Be A Better Dad weekends, which were filled with Lego and football and days out :D
Oh gosh, that must have been hard. I guess we don't feel it as much as children, though... only recently have I had a vague idea about the financial struggle my mum goes through as I've been helping her out with it. (It's also hard because she has a habit of buying luxury foods and giving the impression of being in control, so when she complains about money it feels a little out of nowhere!)
I'm glad your current parental situation's working out for you :) I hear you on the financial difficulty, though, definitely - it's mostly sorted itself out by now, but when Mum and Dad first split up Mum was completely screwed, money-wise, and with her we lived on very, very little for a good few years. I imagine it's really difficult to adjust to shouldering the different financial burdens, especially if you've been married a long time (which I think my parents were, actually; they were certainly together for ten years before they had me, idk how much of that they were married for).
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...I can't believe I'm having an 'ah, youth' conversation. ;)
Did one of your parents keep the original house? My mother was the one to move out, and I remember the new place she found, eating dinner on the floor with plastic forks while watching TV (the #1 priority, naturally). It was strange but also kind of exciting... I don't think I took it as bad as my sister did.
The house we're in now is the one she finally bought, after two rental properties. It's my favourite, too, not only because I have a little en-suite. ;)
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My mum kept the house at first - but then couldn't afford the mortgage payments by herself, so Dad took it back (he's still there now, actually) and she moved out instead. With Mum, we then lived in a string of rental properties until we found a house we could actually afford to buy - which meant we then spent a few years in an ex-council house in one of the very deprived areas on the Wirral. During that time, Mum was working unsalaried in local government, and honestly I have no idea where she got any money from at all, so we were pretty poor for a few years. Then she got her current job, which is a management position, and she moved back near my sister's and my secondary school, which is a fairly affluent area. I actually really enjoyed all the moving around - it probably helped, I suppose, that the whole time my dad remained pretty well off, so I never really had much experience of being genuinely deprived. It was just a series of new house adventures to me at the time. The most exciting one as I remember it was the first one my dad moved out into, I suppose because it corresponded to the first I'm Going To Be A Better Dad weekends, which were filled with Lego and football and days out :D
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