My belief: Anything can be done; all you have to do is try the best you can.

Every morning, as I awaken from my dream-filled slumber, I get hit hard with the fact that my entire life is crammed into large boxes that fill up the empty space in the garage which I call “home”. Most days I am oblivious to my reality due to the fact that a lot of my time is spent elsewhere, whether it is school, work, or a friend’s house, but as soon as I get “home” my discomfort is blatantly there. My movements make me seem like a polar bear; quiet, steady, as if I am walking on a thin sheet of ice.

My mother and sister notice when I slightly shift positions when I am sitting, hunched over, on my undersized bottom bunk. They reassure me with kind words that soon I will be lying down on a futon, or even a bed, inside our very own home. As I return to my reading, questions begin to emerge in my head. “When will that day come? When will I be able to live in a world where my television is within two feet of the refrigerator? When will I not have to worry about the rain that seeps under the large garage door and shreds my boxes filled with precious, yet distant memories up like a corrosive acid?”

As the days go by, my demeanor gets lower and lower. As I am nearing the lowest point on my emotional scale, I receive an epiphany, be it from God, or the one diminutive shred of positivity left inside of me. I realize that my family’s situation is not one that we are forced to be in. As I am contemplating my newly-found thought, something in my head clicks, and I figure out that my family can save enough money to move out of our makeshift home. If we stop spending money on unnecessary things such as eating out, going to the theaters, or even going to the casino, one of my mother’s favorites, we can save up the amount necessary to move out within a few months.  

As I explain my idea to my mother, she has a look on her face that reads as both confused and impressed.

At first, it was hard to not spend money because it was a practice that we had grown accustomed to, but t­­­­hrough following this plan, my mother and sister have been able to begin paying for a car that provides a reliable source of transportation for both of them.

After seeing my mother get the car, I felt a strong revitalization to my belief. Now, it is a matter of time for us to open that garage door, load up a truck, and drive off to a new home.