u/Patient_Wrongdoer330

So I’m a 19F and I’m about to move into my first apartment with 3 roommates, and I’m a little nervous. I’m worried that I won’t be able to find a good enough job to pay all of my bills.

I think it’s sad that this is an actual dream of mine, but I want to be able to pay my bills while also not be working my ass off everyday of the week and also be able to have money left over to spend on myself, though I know that isn’t realistic rn.

I do also attend community college that is being paid for with grants, so that isn’t a concern money-wise.

So, 18-20 year olds that are living on your own, how are you making a living? Do you live comfortably? Are you happy with your work? Was it hard to get your job?

So, I am 19 and am about to move into my first apartment. I am currently attending community college online for an associate of arts degree. I’m getting it all paid for through FAFSA, but I’m not sure if I want to attempt to peruse a bachelors degree, as I’m not sure if I’ll continue receiving FAFSA and I can’t afford it on my own. I am a pretty artistic person and I really have my heart set of working in an art related field, even tho I know how tough most of them are.

My plan is to move into my apartment, work a normal job in retail or food service like I have been, but to also start building portfolios for music composition, concept art, and graphic design.

I have been drawing since I was in middle school and I think I am pretty good, I hope I can do some concept art for film or video games. I have also been playing music since I was pretty young too, and I feel that I have a pretty good understanding of music theory and would love if I could do freelance music composition. I was also planning on learning how to use photoshop and illustrator to build a portfolio in graphic design, which I also took in high school (although very briefly). I was just planning on freelancing in all three of these, and hopefully if things go good I can quit working food/retail and make it my full time job, and maybe even land myself an officially job after a while.

This plan seems pretty solid to me, but I don’t have experience in any of these industries. Are my expectations totally unrealistic?

I’m currently going to the Alamo colleges in San Antonio, and I am waiting to find out if I have received any financial aid awards for the 2026-2027 school year. I have no idea when they announce your awards tho. I am relying heavily on receiving financial aid again for this year so I’m a little antsy to find out 💔. Does anyone know when they announce it?