By the time Christmas came around, I had already mentally checked out.

In this episode, I share what it looked like to quietly prepare for freedom long before I physically left. As graduation approached, my focus shifted to survival, independence, and getting out. This chapter reflects the slow unraveling that happens when care becomes conditional and adulthood is forced too early.

I open up about moments that shaped me during this time. Learning to rely on myself, navigating medical issues without support, managing financial responsibility without guidance, and the emotional weight of realizing I did not truly have a home. I also share the experience of being kicked out, sleeping on a friend’s floor, and finishing high school while silently carrying the reality that the people meant to protect me had chosen absence instead.

This episode is about forced independence, quiet resilience, and the moments that harden you before you are ready. It is about what happens when survival becomes normal and how those seasons shape who we become.

We will continue this story next week.

If you are walking through a season where you feel unseen, unsupported, or prematurely grown, this episode is for you. You are not alone!