Selena Scarborough, “My Lifestyle Transition”

MY LIFESTYLE TRANSITION

Selena Scarborough

Astounded: That’s what I felt when me and my mother were finally moving into a brand-new apartment of our own. A new journey was starting to be set in motion. On a bright, sunny, windy day at 8:00 a.m. I suddenly awakened from my sleep to start getting ready and pack all my clothes. “Today is the big day. Are you ready to get out of this hellhole?” said my mother. I said, “Yeah, I am.” Honestly I was so eager to leave this homeless shelter that I have been living in for seven and a half months. The shelter was very small and was located in the Bronx. It felt as if I was indentured in a black hole that I couldn’t get out of because I had no way out. After I finished packing my clothes, I went inside the bathroom to take a refreshing shower. The bathroom was miniature but had enough extended space to get yourself together. So I closed the door and got inside the shower. When I was in the shower, I felt something change inside my physical body. I started to feel chest pain and my stomach sank like a rock in the sea. This was because I was very nervous. I didn’t know what to expect, and I didn’t know what would happen when we got there. I overheard my mom talking to Mrs. Kimberly but the sounds faded. Mrs. Kimberly was the housing worker in the shelter. She had long, black, straight hair, light complexion, and usually wore a formal women’s suit with black shoes. “SELENA, HURRY UP AND GET DRESSED, WE ARE ABOUT TO LEAVE!” my mother yelled to me. “Okay, I will,” I said. So I suddenly dashed out of the shower and dried myself off in

order to get dressed. I put on some black sweatpants and a Nike sweater. I opened the door and sat down in the chair to put on my shoes. My mom had a black-and-yellow dress, her hair in a ponytail, and shades on top of her head. “C’mon, let’s start heading downstairs. I have everything packed already,” my mom said. “Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go,” I said. So we carried everything and headed downstairs. We made it downstairs and before we left, the case worker named Mrs. Ford, who was working with my mother, stopped to talk to me. My mom on the other hand was talking to Mrs. Kimberly. Mrs. Ford had a bald, gray buzz cut. She was tall and wore glasses. She was so kindhearted and actually cared about me like I was her child. “Hey, are you ready to leave this place?” “Yeah, I am very ready. I been waiting for this moment to come,” I said with an enormous smile on my face. “I know. Your mom always told me that she was ready, but she was very patient, which I liked about her.” “Yeah, I understand. You know I’m very grateful that I finally have this opportunity, and this is what I wanted for my whole life.” “Now you have it!” “Yup. Thank you, Mrs. Ford. Keep helping these people. They will need it.” “You are surely welcome. Now get out of here; you deserve it.” I walked out the hallway and made an exit out the front door of the building. The weather was still sunny, but it was drizzling. I felt a flurry of rain sting my face. I heard deafening music blasting that people were playing outside. In front of me there was a white van beeping. “Get in,” Mrs. Kimberly said with the window down.

I ran to the car and sat down.“Let’s roll.” Mrs. Kimberly started to drive off from the shelter. She started to make conversation with my mom. Meanwhile I was in my own world and completely dozed off. In my mind I was in disbelief and gleeful at the same time. I was so in the zone to the point where I even made a vision in my head of what it would be like with my mom and me in our new apartment. In my brain I was picking up pieces and putting it together like you would do with a mysterious puzzle. I eventually snapped out of it and started to watch YouTube videos on my iPhone. I looked up, and I observed that Mrs. Kimberly was using hand gestures while she was talking. But as I looked out the window of the car, we were already at the apartment building. “We are here, guys.” Mrs. Kimberly said. “That was fast,” me and my mom said at the same time. We all got out of the car. I was surprised because I had never seen something like this before. Outside, the building was white, gray, and black and had almost up to fifty windows. The building is located in Queens on Sutphin Blvd and Archer Avenue. All of us walked together to go inside the apartment building. When I walked inside, all I smelled was fresh white paint. There was cardboard on the floors and blue tape on the windows. “Hello. Welcome to the apartment complex. Which floor are you heading to?” said the security worker at the front desk. “The apartment is on the ninth floor,” said Mrs. Kimberly. “Looks great. Just to let you all know, we have a gym, leasing office, and laundry room on the fourth floor. In total we have twenty-eight floors including penthouses.” “Okay, that’s awesome.” “I have some paperwork for you and the mother to sign.” “Okay, I can fill mine out now. Mrs. Scarborough, I will bring your paperwork up when I’m done if that’s okay.”

“Okay, that’s fine. We will go upstairs,” said my mom, pointing at the elevator. My mom took the keys, and we both headed upstairs to the apartment. Inside the elevators everything was taped up since the building was good as new and still being built to perfection. We finally made it upstairs. The door was right next to the elevator. My mom had the keys and opened the door. I couldn’t believe my eyes. As I walked in, the apartment was so squeaky clean. It was like a five-star hotel but even better. I automatically absorbed the fresh air that was coming from the air vents. But I heard something drop on the floor. It turned around and found my mother crying facing toward the windows. As soon as that happened, I quickly went to her and spoke to her. “Mom, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” I said, with an echo following. “I just can’t believe we did it and made it to this point. It just feels so unreal.” “Mom, don’t cry about it, be happy. We made it this far, and we shouldn’t be upset about it. Let’s celebrate it instead of messing up the mood.” My mom turned her teary-eyed face into a smile. She gave me a warm, enjoyable hug that was filled with unconditional love. “I love you, Selena. Thanks for staying with me through this whole situation.” “I love you too, Mom. I know that this is what you always dreamed of. Of course I would stay, you are my mom.” I love seeing my mom this way. If she is happy, I’m happy. Now it’s time for a life change with a restarting journey.

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