I felt a little intimidated when my boss hired me because I didn’t have all that much experience. The other people I found myself working with had 10 or more years of experience, and they are so much older and more mature than I felt. But my boss is my uncle, and he knew that I was desperate to work, so he took a chance on me. I complained one day of not being able to meet quota, and he pointed out that I need get more proactive about learning the industry. He said reading a housing journal online would be a good start. I was embarrassed that I had not thought about learning more about what I needed to do.

My parents were great about trying to ready me for the adult world. They pointed out many times that getting a degree was important. They explained many times that high school and college are not just about partying and socializing. They tried to point out that the real world cost money, and you will fall behind if you don’t get serious in life. I didn’t listen. I ended up treating college like one big party, and I soon had to drop out. Soon after, I met a guy and we had a child. I tried to straighten up, but after I had the baby, I didn’t have much time to learn a new work skill so that I could afford to take care of the baby properly. My daughter’s dad is no longer in the picture.

When I found myself faced with caring for my daughter alone, I had no idea what I would do. I knew that I could try to work at a retail job, but that doesn’t bring in enough money for daycare, clothing, food, an apartment and much more for two people. So, my uncle hired me on and has been slowly teaching me to grow up, just like my parents tried to teach me.