By Kaylen Howard/campus editor

Rummaging in my pocket for the front door key after a long day of classes, I could hear my mother’s voice echoing in the house as she talked to her cats again.

As a journalist, graduate student, sister, friend, colleague and daughter, I try to balance a lot of chaos all at once. Continuing my education in a community college while getting my master’s online can be overwhelming.

I roll my eyes and prepare for another evening of my parents talking loudly, my mother yelling at her cats, long lectures about how I should always carry my Taser when alone and another sleepless night.

“Dang,” I screamed, agitated by not being able to find my key. “Alright mom, can you let me in?” I say while pounding on the front door.

Yes, I live with my parents, and it is no picnic.

I walked as quickly as I could to my mother’s office, my temporary sleeping quarters, and shut the door behind me. I had homework to complete and lots of it, plus the task of sleeping on a hard carpet floor with only a layer of blankets and a sleeping bag as a cushion.

And don’t get me started on my parents’ three cats who have no shame in shedding their fur all over my backpack and clothing.

My parents used to have a room for me in their old house but have since downsized when they thought they were becoming empty-nesters. In today’s competitive job market, more college graduates are moving back in with their parents while looking for work or gaining more technical skills for higher chances entering the job market.

I know my situation is common, and to be honest, I am not proud of where I am. I decide to be humble and take things one step at a time.

With a Bachelor of Arts in broadcast journalism under my belt and seeking an associate in radio, television and film at TCC, I am seeking an anchor/reporting position in the metroplex.

I am very content in my life. But, when I hear the echoing hymns of my mom’s cats’ songs though her paper-thin office door, I begin to count down the days until I am off on my own permanently and living on my own.