I have never really been the type of person to take my time. From dating, to buying a car, to buying clothes, I’ve always kind of just picked something and ran with it. I’ve never been the type to do research and make sure I’m getting the best deal or that the product I’m buying is a quality product. I know that is ridiculous, but I’ve always justified it by saying I’m “too busy” to do research or take my time. Now that I am older and have experienced buying a variety of whack products that were extremely overpriced or cheap and not durable, I realize that I have to change and stop rushing to make decisions.

The decision that made me realize I need to stop being so impulsive was my decision to move into the place I currently live. When my lease was about to end, I hopped on Craigslist to look for a new place. I knew that I would have to rent a room again, but I wanted to make sure my experience with my future roommates wasn’t a disaster like my last living situation. I went to go view a two bedroom apartment and the guy living there was sooo dope! I was supposed to quickly view the place, but we ended up chopping it up for a good two hours. He wanted a decision quickly because he and his girlfriend were about to go to Thailand for a month and he wanted to make sure he had a new roommate set in stone. There were pros and cons to this living situation:

PROS

1. I’d have my own bathroom for the first time in my life.
2. I’d only have to deal with one roommate instead of 2 or more
3. He is a guy and guys are usually less drama than women
4. Work out room!
5. Pool!
6. Hot tub!

CONS

1. It was waaaay more expensive than my last place
2. It was in an apartment community, not a house like I was used to
3. It was further away from my job

The pros outweighed the cons and honestly I didn’t want to look at hella places. Me accepting this place meant that I’d have one less thing to stress about and I was here for it. I wasn’t competing with anyone, I didn’t have to wait for my credit to get checked, I didn’t have to do anything but say “yes”. Therefore, I decided to move into the first and only place that I looked at.

I moved in February 1st. Since then I have added more cons to the list that I didn’t consider or necessarily know about until I got here.

ADDITIONAL CONS

1. There is no washer and dryer in my apartment, so I have to use quarters in their laundry room (Someone stole my damn laundry basket the first time I used it -_-)
2. There is a loooong wait list for a parking pass (which costs an additional $75 a month BTW)

Now let me tell ya’ll about the parking situation at this here apartment complex. It is HORRIBLE. My roommate told me every unit automatically gets a parking space, so I’d have to request an additional one. However, he didn’t mention how much of a strenuous ongoing battle this was going to be. This apartment community is huge and contains about 35 buildings, but I still didn’t think that getting a parking spot would be an issue. In addition, management is really rude. I wanted to go off on them, but because my roommate has been living here for a few years, I decided to keep it classy. So now I have to park two blocks away and walk to and from my apartment everyday. It SUCKS. I’m not the type of person that gets sick often, but I’ve gotten sick twice since I’ve moved here and I know it’s from walking two blocks in the rain every night. The parking situation has definitely caused me to regret moving in here. Besides that though, I can’t complain. My roommate is one of the dopest individuals I’ve ever met and we have gotten close in the last two months. And did I mention I have my own bathroom?! LOL. That is a blessing after my last living situation where I shared a bathroom with two others. Next time around though, I will definitely explore other options before committing to the first option I have.

After feeling like I rushed the decision to move in here, it inspired me to take my time when purchasing a bed. I had never bought a bed before, because one was always provided for me. The old Michaela would just go online and find the cheapest bed I could find, have it delivered and be done with it, but this time around I wanted to do my research and find a quality bed right for me. I did my research for two whole months until I finally found the bed I wanted and I must say I am happy I took my time. I am a cheap person and was going to initially go for a cheaper option, but after my first night of sleep I knew that the phrase “you get what you pay for” is completely accurate and that paying more was a smart decision. I have never slept this well and I feel like I made the best investment I’ve made in a while. So take it from me guys ALWAYS do your research, get opinions from people, pay more for quality products and always TAKE YOUR TIME.