A New Chapter

I graduated college in May 2014 and I've been living at my parent's house back in my hometown ever since.

Well, more like since midway through this year since I've been spending the better part of my living in L's apartment that just so happens to be in the basement of his parent's house.

Two faces I'll miss like crazy when I'm gone.

My grad school hopes and dreams are kind of pulling us into this new living chapter and it's hard for me to wrap my head around.

The grad school that I'm *mostly* looking at is in Cambridge, MA. I know, so fancy.

I know three people currently going here, my professors from undergrad have colleagues here, and I've met for coffee with a girl who graduated from this program. I'm still going to apply to the New Hampshire program... but honestly I feel like all fingers are pointing to Cambridge.

Better still, I have like TONS of friends who live in the Boston area. Soooooo many friends from college days! Man, I miss them.

I guess the real question is, can I afford this? 

Logistically, I guess I should be able to go to grad school full/part-time and work full/part-time and also be saving up money like a mofucker right now to help me out with rent.

But the reality is that I haven't really factored in certain expenses to living in the Boston area... like having to eat food... and other important things like that.

Also, I have an embarrassingly large credit card balance that I'm trying to pay off before any real apartment talks take place. AND I'M ALSO TRYING TO TRAVEL THIS YEAR.

Am I totally out of my mind? I guess, maybe? I don't know, I've never had to pay rent before. I lived in my college dorms and apartments in a blissfully ignorant state, thinking RENT FREE! when really what was happening was those student loans were just pilin' up, man. Isn't that so rude how it happens?

And madre and padre aren't helping me out this time... like at all. I don't really want them too - they really sacrificed a lot to help me out with a TON of my undergrad tuition. But I'm scared. Terrified of incurring all of that student loan debt, and of taking a huge leap into the real world and getting kicked right back out.

If you've ever had to handle rent, living in a city, and/or grad school please enlighten me... how did you survive?