Sail Your Sea, Meet Your Storm.
So here's my life in a nutshell:
So I was hanging out with Ryan & Heather one night, and I called my mom to let her know I was going back to Smith Pl. for a little while. She had asked me to come home, not telling me why, saying "Johanna, just, just come home ok?" Which scared me, because whenever this happens something bad has happened. For example, I remember one time when I still lived on Smith Pl. my mom called me over from Heather's to tell me my cat died. Which, she actually killed by accident, overdosing him on dog flea medicine. Anyways... I walked into my house to find my mom hunched over the computer crying. Over her hysterics I could understand that something went wrong with my financial aid, and it was turned in two days late. Meaning, I could not get any funding besides a a few grants I already had. This year, out of state students pay about 27,000 a year. With all my aid, and only 5,000 being in loans, my family pays only 6,000. After doing the math my mom and I found out we would have to pay an extra 20,000. This really wouldn't have been a killer problem, it was doable. However, in the beginning of May my dad is starting chemo. No, he doesn't have cancer. He has Hep. C from when he was in the Marines, it is actually called Vietnam strain. But it is attacking his liver. And like they would if he had cancer, the chemo will attack the cells doing this. This puts our family in a financial hardship. There is no way I would be selfish enough to put my family through that. He needs this now, school can wait a year I figure. I appealed the decision of my late aid, but they rejected it, like we had thought. I was thinking of the idea before this to take a year off and work, so I guess sometimes things just work out. This summer I am working at the Roys in the mornings, and Road to Responsibility - where my sister works (however, I will be working probably at a house in Scituate). Ill work three shifts a week about, which go from 2:30pm one day until 9am the next. Which gives me almost a 20 hour shift done quick. I'll be making bank. Then hopefully if I can save my money and be good about it, next year me and Ryan are going to get an apartment. I will continue to work at RTR and hopefully take a class or two at MassArt. Then the next year, transfer there & maybe get a new apartment in the city. Of course I'm going to come up and visit pstate a lot! It was a great year, and I got the experience of it all. But I really dont think I could have done this for another three years up here. I hate the snow, and it made me depressed. I miss the ocean, and the vibe of my small town. Getting out of high school you're so ready to leave. But once you do, you wish you never did. Being in Boston in a few years will be nice, close to home ... just a train ride away rather than a 2 1/2 hour rural drive. There will always be something to do, unlike here where theres snowboarding, skiing, or you wait until the weekend. And I think the break will be nice. I can get myself together and grow up. See what it is really like to live on my own, not in some 8x8 dorm. Im really looking forward to it, but like I said it's so bittersweet. I made a bestfriend up here, and I'll miss her more than anything. But everything happens for a reason.
So I was hanging out with Ryan & Heather one night, and I called my mom to let her know I was going back to Smith Pl. for a little while. She had asked me to come home, not telling me why, saying "Johanna, just, just come home ok?" Which scared me, because whenever this happens something bad has happened. For example, I remember one time when I still lived on Smith Pl. my mom called me over from Heather's to tell me my cat died. Which, she actually killed by accident, overdosing him on dog flea medicine. Anyways... I walked into my house to find my mom hunched over the computer crying. Over her hysterics I could understand that something went wrong with my financial aid, and it was turned in two days late. Meaning, I could not get any funding besides a a few grants I already had. This year, out of state students pay about 27,000 a year. With all my aid, and only 5,000 being in loans, my family pays only 6,000. After doing the math my mom and I found out we would have to pay an extra 20,000. This really wouldn't have been a killer problem, it was doable. However, in the beginning of May my dad is starting chemo. No, he doesn't have cancer. He has Hep. C from when he was in the Marines, it is actually called Vietnam strain. But it is attacking his liver. And like they would if he had cancer, the chemo will attack the cells doing this. This puts our family in a financial hardship. There is no way I would be selfish enough to put my family through that. He needs this now, school can wait a year I figure. I appealed the decision of my late aid, but they rejected it, like we had thought. I was thinking of the idea before this to take a year off and work, so I guess sometimes things just work out. This summer I am working at the Roys in the mornings, and Road to Responsibility - where my sister works (however, I will be working probably at a house in Scituate). Ill work three shifts a week about, which go from 2:30pm one day until 9am the next. Which gives me almost a 20 hour shift done quick. I'll be making bank. Then hopefully if I can save my money and be good about it, next year me and Ryan are going to get an apartment. I will continue to work at RTR and hopefully take a class or two at MassArt. Then the next year, transfer there & maybe get a new apartment in the city. Of course I'm going to come up and visit pstate a lot! It was a great year, and I got the experience of it all. But I really dont think I could have done this for another three years up here. I hate the snow, and it made me depressed. I miss the ocean, and the vibe of my small town. Getting out of high school you're so ready to leave. But once you do, you wish you never did. Being in Boston in a few years will be nice, close to home ... just a train ride away rather than a 2 1/2 hour rural drive. There will always be something to do, unlike here where theres snowboarding, skiing, or you wait until the weekend. And I think the break will be nice. I can get myself together and grow up. See what it is really like to live on my own, not in some 8x8 dorm. Im really looking forward to it, but like I said it's so bittersweet. I made a bestfriend up here, and I'll miss her more than anything. But everything happens for a reason.