I am a few months into living on my own at "Homes Giving Hope". Homes Giving Hope is an organization for people with individual disabilities to be able to live on their own with lots of support but still gain the full experience of living on their own. The first few weeks I was excited and was ready to live on my own so I really enjoyed and embraced that time. I tend to deal with feelings differently so I didn't feel I was homesick until after about 4-5 weeks in living at Homes giving hope. I spent almost every weekend at home because I missed my family. But whenever I spent the time at home it usually made it harder for me to go home just because I missed my family and parents house. But I pushed through.
Now that I am about 2 months into living at Homes Giving Hope (Which it feels longer than that) I have been loving it and feel kind of like a new woman. I have so many different responsibilities at HGH. Responsibilities like making sure I clean up after myself, keeping my room and bathroom clean, putting my dishes away because we now have another roommate living there so I don't have "my own" kitchen anymore.
At the end of last month my roommates and I got a dog from "Paws With a Cause". He is a blonde golden retriever and his name is Ryder. He is 1 year old. I got to go and pick out the dog. There were 2 other golden retrievers that I got to pick from too and they were both girls. I have always wanted a girl golden retriever but Ryder stood out the most to me. He squeaks when he gets excited and always has a toy or ball in his mouth which is adorable. He's the sweetest and cutest dog and helps me so much with my anxiety. Dealing with my anxiety since I moved out has been challenging, but it's getting better.
Moving out on my own has been different than I expected. It's been scary, hard, but also really great! The most difficult part was/is balancing my finances. However, the best parts include having roommates and making friends with girls my own age. Experiencing independence has made me feel stronger and helped me realize I can do more than I thought. Change can be hard for me. But I am so glad that I took the risk to move out and try something new.
Independence with a hidden disability is possible. Even though new things can be intimidating, it can lead to new opportunities.