I was born in Minneapolis. My socioeconomic background was poor with a drug addict father and negligent abusive mother. Due to the neglect and abuse, I was removed from my home and placed in foster care. My mother died in my teens and my father died in my 20's. I have no living relatives besides distant cousins with whom I lost touch with. I had struggles with trauma which was later diagnosed as C-PTSD. Despite all of these challenges, I did well in school but needed to support myself at a young age so I passed my GED at 16 and started college. Fast forward, I earned a Masters Degree in Information Technology with an emphasis on Information Security. It took a long time to finish school because I was working full-time, and sometimes I had two jobs while attending college. I worked 3rd shift so I could go to class during the day.
After leaving Minnesota, I moved all over the country, picking up jobs at power plants and government agencies. In 2003 I moved to DC and worked at the Pentagon, the State Department, EPA, DoD, US Marine Corp and agencies you've never heard of. I've had a Top Secret clearance since 2003. In 2012 I moved to Lynn, MA for a job transfer in Cambridge. My boyfriend from DC worked for the same company, so we made the journey to relocate together. Things took a turn for the worse when I became a victim of domestic violence. Due to additional complications with that relationship, I had lack of money and my credit was ruined. I had two dogs, cats, bad credit and no support, which made it virtually impossible to escape the relationship. I had to go into hiding and keep my job. I lived in an RV with my pets which made me homeless. I had to put down my senior dog because I couldn't care for her in that situation. In 2014 I responded to an ad for an apartment in Concord. When I looked at the place it was somewhat rundown but the landlord was the only person who accepted my bad credit and pets. The exterior had chipping paint and appeared to be abandoned. The interior was infested with mice, there were holes in the floor, a few faucets didn't work, there was chipping paint, dented walls, slanted ceilings, a dirty spiderweb covered basement and an old leaking oil furnace. All of the things you'd expect to see in a neglected rental home built in 1870. The landlord was a very caring man and did his best make sure most of the problems (within reason) were resolved before I moved in. At least I was able to keep "my family" of furry friends together. And for me? It was quiet and I was safe.
In 2016 my landlord wanted to sell the property. I really couldn't find the energy to move and was already used to the place as I had spent a lot of time fixing it up as a renter. I offered to purchase it because it was reasonably priced and as time passed, I was able to restore most of my credit enough to qualify for a 203k FHA loan. I figured when I was ready to move, I could turn around and sell it. I used the 203k rehab loan to fix it up where it was much more comfortable and more of a home for me. I feel as though I took a complete eyesore for the community and turned it around into an appealing home on a busy intersection. I added well maintained flower boxes, a new roof and painted the chipped up and somewhat abandoned looking building. I spent so much time fixing little odds & ends that seemed to be endless. Whenever I had a bit of money left over I spent it on home improvements. Whenever I had time off from work I spent it patching holes, painting, meeting with contractors and learning from DIY home improvement videos.