My aunt used to say that failing to plan is the surest way to live a bad life. I didn’t quite understand what she meant until I became an adult who lives alone and shoulders her responsibilities. She felt as though my mom, her younger sister, cushioned us from the realities of life. To some extent, I agreed with her since mom could be overly protective if you are not strong-headed. Nevertheless, I insisted that I was going to live alone after graduating from high school. I got a small place that I shared with a few of my friends to reduce rental costs. We got jobs at hotels and restaurants for cash. The idea was to save up enough money to start a small grocery business and become independent enough to go to college to pursue our dream courses. Little did I realize what I got myself into. The burden of living alone soon started taking a toll on my friends and me. We hardly got by since everything seemed to be more expensive than I imagined. Our biggest challenge was the air conditioning. The small garage space we rented would get too hot in summer, and the portable AC the owner had given us was barely doing its job. The windows were not letting in enough air, so the space was stuffy, and the humidity levels were also high. After about two months, I returned home, where the air conditioning was not a challenge. Mum was glad to have me back, but my aunt was disappointed. She believed that we could survive with no AC and a better plan to find an area with a proper heating and cooling system. It is essential to have an HVAC unit if you live in this area.
