You are welcome, Lisa. I am finding out that I am using your words more than mine, maintaining much of the integrity of your sharing, I believe. For example: “I never imagined a perfect life..” below are exactly your words.

Part Six:

I got a job and spent the rest of my teen years and half of my twenties in my childhood home, often,  a turbulent home, cleaning and staying alone in my room, or in the library, fantasizing about being someone else, a version of myself.

I never imagined a perfect life with no problems. The only thing different were my connections to people.

When I was 23, my grandfather died. A year and a half later, I was kicked out of the house by my uncle’s wife. I then rented my first apartment. It was very old with peeling wallpaper.

I had an interest in decorating homes. I got my GED (General Equivalency Diploma, a high school equivalency diploma), and went to an art school for one year and majored in Interior Design. I dreamed of having my own home, a place I could decorate and feel secure in.

I never owned a home and I never felt secure in any of my homes.