I'm so excited at the possibility of having a place I can call home, where I can live and study in comfort. It feels really great and already inspires me to work harder!
The past couple of years have been really challenging. I came to London two years ago as a refugee and had nowhere to stay. I started sofa surfing, moving between friends every two weeks. I was so tired because packing up your belongings every two weeks becomes very draining. I called a friend who let me stay at hers until I found a stable place. She was lovely and never minded, but in the back of my mind I always wanted to have my own place that I could really make my own home, look after and decorate. During this time period, I came out as bisexual. Navigating this was made more difficult because I was homeless and was trying to find a place I could call home.
After getting my residence permit, I moved into a hostel. Living in a hostel is hard. It's always loud and it's very cramped. Trying to attend college was also really tough because of my living situation. Living in the hostel did make my mental health deteriorate, but I'm positive I will find my dream flat and live the life I want soon enough. Once I've moved, my next focus is to look at going to university and hopefully one day starting my business!