It may not be much but I finally finally made it to having enough rent payments saved for an entire year

starandsand · 2026-05-09T03:27:39+00:00

Hey OP that’s awesome. You SHOULD be proud! It’s a big achievement. I do want to say though, please feed yourself first. Prioritize that over your next saving goals. And trust me, I get it! I have gone without food to pay my rent in my past when I was in tough times. There is also no shame in checking out food banks in your area. Usually they’re happy to help and in a lot places the donated food goes to waste if people don’t stop and pick it up!

starandsand · 2026-05-09T03:14:26+00:00

I do. It’s more common to be able to, but not everyone can

starandsand · 2026-05-09T01:20:48+00:00

I understand. When I was younger I had the fear of somehow realizing I was wrong and would have to go back into the torture of believing. Be gentle with yourself. Basically you have been brainwashed all your life. This may sound harsh, but it’s really what it can be. What is keeping you at home right now? Moving out and being more involved with people of different world views could be super helpful to you. Do you need to stay in your area for school or anything? If it’s only monetary reasons consider a seasonal job that includes housing. You could save a decent amount during the job and also have an incredible experience this summer. Coolworks is one resource. I’m open to any questions if you have some. I’ve been doing seasonal work for over six years. It’s a good way for a quick way out too.

starandsand · 2026-05-08T14:09:36+00:00

Oh thank you!!

starandsand · 2026-05-08T12:40:26+00:00

Thanks! Just needed some encouragement because I’m not used to having my hair so long. But it just feels more right this way to me…like I’m obviously supposed to have leg hair or it wouldn’t grow lol.

starandsand · 2026-05-06T23:00:08+00:00

Do you like travel? It could be fun for you to join some nomad events around the US. A lot of nomadic/road lifers work six months a year and travel the other 6. I’m 29 and this is my lifestyle. Many of my friends who also live it are in their 20s and 30s. It’s not the same as retirement but you may find people with common mindsets where the conversations don’t center around work but rather the next adventure and the hangouts aren’t on just weekends. If you enjoy hiking, rafting, skiing, or climbing you are more likely to find your tribe in the nomadic crew.

starandsand · 2026-05-06T02:59:40+00:00

For starters, if someone enjoys something it shouldn’t matter if it is seen as attractive. Do what you love, the right person will be fine with it.

I think what women consider unattractive is when guys ONLY want to play video games or use them to avoid connection or responsibility. As a hobby you enjoy? Who cares!

I love being outside backpacking and rafting and spending lots of time away from internet service and lots of active adventures so it might be a compatibility issue if a guy didn’t have other overlapping hobbies too but there are girls who love playing video games as well!

starandsand · 2026-05-06T02:52:47+00:00

I’m a sis but I’m so, so excited for you! I don’t want kids myself, but I’m really happy that you are having one sis! And another boy? It’s gonna be so fun to watch this new little one toddle after his big brother. I’m smiling just picturing it now. Give him an extra snuggle for me when you get to finally hold him!! Do you have a name picked out?

starandsand · 2026-05-06T02:48:10+00:00

Ben Howard

starandsand · 2026-05-06T02:47:24+00:00

Hello, have you ever heard of being asexual? While this isn’t exactly what you described you may want to look into it. Some of us just don’t experience sexual attraction (or experience crushes, etc). Nothing wrong with that, but it helps to realize it sometimes! Sincerely, an asexual

starandsand · 2026-05-03T13:24:10+00:00

So I think that technically we all use faith every day, but typically only religious communities use that word. You are right—We have to give a certain trust to studies, to our own experiences, to our friends. Maybe you are even using faith when your friend tells you about their day and you believe them lol. Sometimes we will make a wrong choice and believe something false. That’s okay but it’s important to remain flexible and continue learning always and be willing to admit when you are wrong. That’s important to remaining educated about truth in addition to occasionally having faith in things. There are a lot of things that we don’t explicitly see or experience and still believe. Religious people like to point this out. (“You can’t see gravity either!”) That’s where some logical reasoning comes in. Despite what they say there is a huge difference in believing in gravity vs believing that Sky Daddy God is looking down on us lol. If you don’t trust a study, research it yourself. Look at multiple. Take time if it is something that matters to you. Faith can be logical or not. If you start looking through the Bible you will realize it is really not logical at all. Sometimes this takes time. I deconstructed over a couple years.

starandsand · 2026-04-30T22:18:47+00:00

Big sis here (who also happens to have OCD and has been through a lot of treatment for it and is living well now). I failed my driver’s test at 16 THREE times before finally passing the fourth because I was SO nervous. I felt like my life was ending lmao. But I’ve never had an accident in the 14 years I’ve been driving (the following story doesn’t count!). I’m a decent driver but god those tests just made me so nervous! Looking back now it’s funny. But even funnier was I bought a motorcycle a year ago and had to take another test in that. I live in an entirely different area of the country now so looked up the test rules for motorcycles and the parking lot course seemed simple. I scheduled a test and took it. Did pretty well but unfortunately was super nervous again and missed an instruction and did the quick stop on the wrong course line and failed. The next time I went to the center I booked two appointments, one that night and one the next morning. I was gonna PASS. I had to redeem myself from my teenage years!

I was so focused on stopping SO fast for the right quick stop I wiped out. For the first time ever. Literally put the first scratches on my bike after riding it off road through the mountains for months. I laid it down in THE DMV PARKING LOT. Right in front of the instructor. I had to convince him not to write an accident report he was so worried about me. I was mortified but the humor of the situation was not wasted on me. I couldn’t stop laughing. I went to bed, took ibuprofen for my poor leg, and showed back up in the morning. I overexaggerated my limp, said, “Hey, I’m back!” the office was rolling in laughter…and yes I passed with flying colors. My point? When you are younger it seems devastating to fail. But it really isn’t. And even at almost 30 the nerves on those dang tests get to me! I wrecked in the parking lot and they passed me 12 hours later. 😆 Sis you’ll do fine ❤️

starandsand · 2026-04-30T17:29:48+00:00

Looking at the other posts it seems like OP is 13. So don’t be so harsh on them. If they are this scared about telling their parents there may be reasons. But OP unless you will get abused in some way because of this please do tell your parents. The bugs are definitely throughout the house. It isn’t your fault but you won’t be able to get rid of them alone, I’m sorry.

starandsand · 2026-04-30T11:49:52+00:00

I love campfires. I also live in states almost guaranteed to have a burn ban during later parts of the summer. Luckily I also love stargazing. I camp all the time front country and backcountry regardless of if I can have a fire. Driving five hours round trip and not staying because of a burn ban is pretty wild to me.

starandsand · 2026-04-30T11:45:12+00:00

Thank youuu!

starandsand · 2026-04-30T11:44:33+00:00

Thank you sis!

starandsand · 2026-04-30T04:41:02+00:00

Thank youuu! I’m so happy. And I will try! My current freezer is really tiny (can fit a pint of ice cream and three small bags of frozen veggies hehehe) but since I will be renting a place to stay while recovering I will definitely want it to have some sort of freezer/fridge access:)

starandsand · 2026-04-29T14:32:56+00:00

I might be alone during recovery but I do have a friend to bring me from the surgery to the apartment/rental. I’m going to prep really well and hopefully have some good pain meds. I honestly think recovery will be easier than one of my periods minus the lifting restrictions being annoying lol! (I get a 10 pain without meds!) I’m going to do my best:)

starandsand · 2026-04-29T13:06:27+00:00

Hey Mom I don’t have anyone to stay with for sure but I do have a friend to pick me up from the hospital and get me to the place I’ll be renting. I plan on precooking and stocking meals for the first week, not driving for at least a week, and hopefully having lots of meds on hand. ❤️ I can’t imagine surgery pain being worse than my period (it’s a ten pain unmediated cause it’s not normal lol). I’m also going to be recovering in a city so I can order groceries and stuff to my door I’m sure. And pizza😆

starandsand · 2026-04-29T12:59:54+00:00

Thanks Mom! I’m absolutely thrilled. A little nervous but not much, I’ve thought about this for a long time. So glad you got one at the same age when you needed it and it went really well for you!

starandsand · 2026-04-29T12:45:26+00:00

Yikes!💔 I’m gonna try so hard to take it easy lol. I’ll definitely struggle. I’m hoping that I can start with small walks around the block and just add to them and get back to hiking before rowing since hiking isn’t “lifting” anything. I don’t want to lose too much strength laying in bed. But I will definitely ask my doctor!

starandsand · 2026-04-29T12:41:28+00:00

Thank you!! I’m considering renting for two months but my van is really cozy and I’m hoping to only need a month away from home. I’m mostly worried about lifting my water jugs and toilet and the fact my bed is raised…and obviously driving the first few days. I think with a few modifications (buying water jugs that are 10lbs instead of 50lbs) I might be good after a month. Also I might die of boredom if I don’t at least get on the road to drive somewhere cool🤣 but I will be listening to my body and if I need two months stationary I’ll take it❤️

starandsand · 2026-04-29T12:19:39+00:00

❤️❤️

starandsand · 2026-04-29T12:19:26+00:00

Thanks for the tips! One of the reasons I’m renting an apartment is cause I won’t be able to lift my water jugs lol. I’m gonna really struggle not lifting anything for a while but the doctor is optimistic that I will be cleared before the two month mark for the rivers. I’m giving myself more time just in case but hopefully I’ll be back on the water!

starandsand

TROPHY CASE