Imagine being homeless at 12. You lose yourself. You wonder why this is happening to you. I thought everything was going good. My family and I had just moved into a new town home. I was back at my old school. Back with my old friends. I was happy.

My mom started talking to a guy over facebook. He lived in Alaska. She planned on going out there to visit. But something happened. We ran into trouble and had to leave the state. We stayed up all night. My two sisters, mom, and I. we packed a total of seven bags. One of those bags was my dog. We left the next day at 4:00pm.  Leaving everything behind. Everything we owned. I even had to leave my lizard behind. We left our stuff in the care of my mom's friend.

The flight to Alaska was exhilarating. We landed in Fairbanks at 2:00am. To my surprise it was still light outside. It looked to be 8:00am. As soon as I walked out the airport doors. The air smelled sweet. I've never smelt sweet air before. It was incredible.

Things started to turn. We had to leave Alaska. For the same reason we had to leave Colorado. Alaska was no longer safe. So we sold our car in Colorado, and with the money bought plane tickets back to Colorado.

When we arrived we had to hitch a ride in with my in-and-out father. Everything in our house was gone. My mom's friend sold it all. Leaving us homeless.

We drove down Colfax. The street of motels. Where the rooms were rented by the hour or the week. Where more people were out at night rather than during the day. My world had been turned upside down.

I had lost my previous friends. They didn't want to play with someone who was homeless. They saw my once before tusty hands, to be the hands of a thief.  So the public library became my new best friend. Free books and movies as long as I returned them on time.

My father paid for us to stay in a motel. When we arrived at the weekly inn, just across from home depot and walmart.  You could see the lack of excitement on our faces. Little did we know that this is where we would spend my mom's birthday and the 4th of july.  We had 2 beds in the room. My mom shared a bed with my dad, my older and younger sisters shared the other, while I slept on an air mattress that would be flat in the morning.
My mom was desperate to keep us happy. I remember we had no food. So she scraped up some change and took us to the hamburger stand. My mom tried to make it exciting. I was disgusted beyond belief. The store was in filth and when my food came, an ant crawled out from inside my hotdog. I will never forget it.

My mom tried to turn this event into something educational. It was at this time where I truly learned about prostitutes, gigolos, drugs, alcohol, how to get second hand clothes and not look poor, how to stay entertained and safe, and most importantly how to ask for help. 

We had to do that a lot. Luckily churches, schools, charities, and kind people all put their hand out to help. My mom's old hairdresser contacted my mom wondering why she hasn't come in. my mom told her about our situation. Then the unthinkable happened. This incredible lady took us into her home, feed us, and gave me a job. That's more than any of us imagined. Usually people just say "oh I'm sorry, let me know if there is anything I can do to help." And once we ask them for help, they are no longer able to do so.

My mom's hairdresser took me under her wing, giving me a job at the age of 12. Sure it was only $2.00 an hour, and I worked 10 hours a day. It gave me something to do. It taught me how to count money, count inventory, give good customer service, and so much more. I worked with her for 4 years.

We got put on housing, and just before school started we had moved into a house. I couldn't have been more grateful. This house saved my life. It slowly pulled me out of depression from being homeless. We were given tons of food from people who had too much. We furnished our house with road side furniture. My mom got a well paying job. Everything fell into place.

I will never miss the hamburger stand, the bed bugs, unsanitary motel rooms, fights at night just outside my door, or the ¨ poor thing¨ look when I told them about my situation.

I am so thankful that I got to experience what I did. It opened my eyes. I know that not everyone who is homeless got that way by addiction. I know that just because someone dresses nice doesn't mean that they aren't struggling. I learned not to judge. I learned not to take things for granted.

I learned to just be happy while I can.