Spic and Span: A Journey to Clean

BNW--One topic not often discussed before you move in with a roommate is who will clean and what they will clean. Listen as 25-year-old Heather Clausen, of Howard County, recounts what it was like for her and her roommates to decide who would clean.

When you must go back to go forward

(Image courtesy of Facebook)

For Vince Barracchini, a twenty-something, life was great. He lived in an apartment with one roommate, partied hard, and ate taco-bell for his fourth meal. That time seems like a distant memory for him now as he decided to move back into his parent’s home.

For my slideshow presentation, I want to do a profile as he re-acclimates himself to his parent’s household and a new full time job. I know that it is hard once you have had all the freedom in the world to go back to the rules of the land at home. I want to explore how Vince is handling the changes in his life style.

Growing Up and Out

(Image Courtesy of The Washington Post)

BNW—I recently read an online article on the Washington Post web site and found a column by an author, which was fresh and witty. I found the posting of a Ms. Sarah Z. Wexler to evoke in me emotions I feel when I sit at home alone some nights when my own roommate is at work or out with her boyfriend. While the article did not use any source other than Wexler’s own happenings, it did stimulate within me thoughts of how I would feel alone in an apartment with no one around to hang out with me. My only problem with the article is that it ends much too quickly. Wexler goes into detail about her new neighborhood and her awesome bedroom but all too quickly summarizes how she turns into her completely independent self in one paragraph. I would have liked to read a bit more about the month long process she went through. I do realize though that the issue might not be in her writing the information, but how much space she was given to write. My favorite quote from Wexler’s article is, “Tonight I'm trying to remind myself that though change is scary, these on-my-own digs are a step to being the kind of grown-up I want to be: an independent, boss-of-myself superhero.” I love this sentence because I get the image of super woman with her hands on her hips and the wind blowing her cape. While I live in my own apartment with one roommate, I feel the image of my independence is of my underwear on the outside of my costume and the wind haphazardly whipping my cape in every direction so that I do not look cool or graceful at all.

Nickel and Diming

As a continuation of my reporter’s beat, “Brave New World,” I recently interviewed two current Towson University students and one alumnus. Their perspectives helped me to get a better understanding of what it is like for students to learn to budget more effectively when it comes to the grocery bill. I was interested in finding out what students are doing now to lower their out of pocket spending when they went grocery shopping. Of the three individuals I spoke with, each told me a different technique to save money and get the biggest bang for their buck at the register. Click here to listen to the full audio story about how you can save some of your nickels and dimes.

Journey with me as we enter this Brave New World

The hardest thing for a young person (and their parents too) is to make the move out onto their own whether it be to go to college or just to spread their wings. When some students go to college, lets face it, they get a sort of restricted practice run of truly living on their own. I do give these students kudos because they do in some respects have to balance a budget and time but they never have to go beyond this point. Their meals are generally chosen for them and they don't have to worry about getting to campus early to find parking. A fact I will readily admit is that eventually everyone will have to live on their own. This blog is created for the individual whom is interested in learning more about living on their own or for the person who is making plans to move. My blog beat, called, "Brave New World" is for all the people out there just like me who need the information gathered together. It would have been so much easier had I had a resource that told me how to select a roommate, create and maintain a budget and how to resolve issues involving the community, housemates and school.

One year ago, I moved away from home. For the first time in my life the decisions made had real consequences. The choices I made influenced not only my own life but my roommate's life as well. We spent six months making plans and figuring out how to start out away from home. All of what we learned came from advice from family, friends and not uncommonly, the Internet. We took from all these sources a mish-mash of information others have used and together we found the things we needed and even some things we didn't know we would need (like spatulas and extension cords). The planning we did over the months before move-in day truly helped to relieve some of the stress (although stress is inevitable).