🏠What it means to have grown up with an unstable housing situation
Growing up with unstable housing meant "home" was never a place—just a series of temporary stops between crises, where making friends or putting down roots felt pointless when you might have to leave at any moment.
You may have learned that physical distance could create emotional peace in ways that words never could, developing incredible adaptive skills and fierce independence. Your survival strategy became simple: when things get hard, move your body away from the problem. You learned that no place is forever, that stability is an illusion, and the only thing you can count on is your ability to survive the next big move.
Even in stable housing now, you might find yourself preparing for the worst or feeling like you don't quite belong—waiting for the next move. Your go-bag is always ready, a habit from when eviction notices could come at any hour. You feel like a guest in your own life, waiting for someone to reclaim the space you occupy. Part of you believes you don't deserve permanence—that stability is for others, not people like you.