Marilynn
Q: How did you end up being homeless?
Me, mom, and dad were living in this complex in Houston and my dad was an artist so he asked if he could make some changes to the apartment. The landlord who was in control at the time said it was ok so my dad began his project. Eventually, the landlord at our complex changed to this new woman landlord. She said that we were destroying the property and that we had one day to leave the premises.
Q: What was going through your mind when you were kicked out of your home?
I was scared and embarrassed. She yelled at us and threatened to call the cops. I thought it was unfair. She gave us no choice. Just one day to move all of our things out of our home and leave the complex.
Q: Where did you go after you were evicted?
We stayed in our car. All of us. Me, my mom, and dad.
Q: How long did you live in your car?
Off and on for about a year. We lived in three different places during that year. One was an artist loft, but they didn’t allow anyone under eighteen to live there so we were kicked out when they found out I was there. And then we moved into another apartment but after a couple of days we realized that it wasn’t safe to be there.
Q: Did you ever resent your parents because of your experiences as a homeless family?
No, me and my parents are very close. There is a lot of love in my family. My parents never get in fights, and they never did when we were homeless either. I never blamed them for what happened.
Q: Tell me about a day that sticks with you from the time when you were homeless.
I went on a date once to the movies with a boy and after it was over, his mom wanted to drive me home. I kept saying I didn’t need a ride but she kept on insisting. Even the guy kept offering and I tried to make it clear to him that I didn’t want a ride. I didn’t know where to get dropped off. Our car was our home and I didn’t want them to know and feel bad for me. After about an hour of resisting, my parents came and picked me up.
Q: Do your friends in Austin know that you were homeless?
No, they don’t. And even when I tell people I was homeless, they don’t believe me because they see a basic, rich, white girl.
Q: How has that affected your experience at a predominantly minority school?
Well I’m half-white and half-Hispanic, but people just see me as white and think that because I’m a white girl, that I have no problems. People think that I’m privileged. I once asked a friend for a French fry and he told me to ask my rich, white dad for money to buy my own. I was angry, and I wanted to explain to him that not all white people are rich, but I didn’t.
Q: Where do you live now?
We live in an RV by school, but I’m always worried that we are going to get evicted again. I still don’t feel like I have a permanent home, but at least I have somewhere to go that has a shower.
Q: If you could write a letter to a younger you, after you were evicted, what would you say?
I would tell her to relax. Don’t be embarrassed. Everyone has their issues. To be honest though, I don’t really listen to my own advice because I’m still embarrassed.
Q: How often do you think about the time when you were homeless? Does it come up often?
It comes up a lot actually. We are still financially unstable and the fear of homelessness is very real. I know that we are not doing very well so I try to not ask for much and I try to show appreciation for what I have so that my parents don’t feel guilty.
Q: If you had to make a three item Christmas wish list right now, what would be on it?
Makeup, clothes, and a phone.
Q: Why makeup?
My mom was very into makeup and she showed me how to use it, so I’ve been using makeup my entire life. I want to make a career out of it as a mortuary beautician. Makeup allows me to see the changes I can make. I like seeing how I have improved in putting makeup on myself and it makes me feel like I have a future with it.
Q: Why a mortuary beautician?
I like makeup, but I’m really not social at all. I like silence and isolation. I don’t like worrying about other people’s opinions, good or bad. One day I heard about mortuary beauticians and I thought it was interesting. I always wanted to work with makeup, but I was afraid of people watching me work and the critiques that they would give. You don’t really have that problem when you put makeup on dead people.
Q: Why clothes?
I want to be able to express myself with my clothing and not just wear the same thing every single day. I want to be able to choose what I’m wearing based on what I’m feeling. I’ve never been wealthy so that’s never been a choice.
Q: Are you happy at Eastside?
No, I’m not. I would much rather be back in Houston but I can’t. I was happy there. I had friends, I had a clique that I belonged to, I liked my school, I had fun, and I had my daily places I would go. I hate that landlord, she ruined my life. We didn’t deserve to get kicked out and I didn’t deserve to leave my school and all my friends.
Before Marilynn shared that story with us, no one at Eastside knew that she lived out of her car at a point in her life. She was similarly unaware that homelessness is a far too common experience on our campus.
Q: How did you end up being homeless?
Me, mom, and dad were living in this complex in Houston and my dad was an artist so he asked if he could make some changes to the apartment. The landlord who was in control at the time said it was ok so my dad began his project. Eventually, the landlord at our complex changed to this new woman landlord. She said that we were destroying the property and that we had one day to leave the premises.
Q: What was going through your mind when you were kicked out of your home?
I was scared and embarrassed. She yelled at us and threatened to call the cops. I thought it was unfair. She gave us no choice. Just one day to move all of our things out of our home and leave the complex.
Q: Where did you go after you were evicted?
We stayed in our car. All of us. Me, my mom, and dad.
Q: How long did you live in your car?
Off and on for about a year. We lived in three different places during that year. One was an artist loft, but they didn’t allow anyone under eighteen to live there so we were kicked out when they found out I was there. And then we moved into another apartment but after a couple of days we realized that it wasn’t safe to be there.
Q: Did you ever resent your parents because of your experiences as a homeless family?
No, me and my parents are very close. There is a lot of love in my family. My parents never get in fights, and they never did when we were homeless either. I never blamed them for what happened.
Q: Tell me about a day that sticks with you from the time when you were homeless.
I went on a date once to the movies with a boy and after it was over, his mom wanted to drive me home. I kept saying I didn’t need a ride but she kept on insisting. Even the guy kept offering and I tried to make it clear to him that I didn’t want a ride. I didn’t know where to get dropped off. Our car was our home and I didn’t want them to know and feel bad for me. After about an hour of resisting, my parents came and picked me up.
Q: Do your friends in Austin know that you were homeless?
No, they don’t. And even when I tell people I was homeless, they don’t believe me because they see a basic, rich, white girl.
Q: How has that affected your experience at a predominantly minority school?
Well I’m half-white and half-Hispanic, but people just see me as white and think that because I’m a white girl, that I have no problems. People think that I’m privileged. I once asked a friend for a French fry and he told me to ask my rich, white dad for money to buy my own. I was angry, and I wanted to explain to him that not all white people are rich, but I didn’t.
Q: Where do you live now?
We live in an RV by school, but I’m always worried that we are going to get evicted again. I still don’t feel like I have a permanent home, but at least I have somewhere to go that has a shower.
Q: If you could write a letter to a younger you, after you were evicted, what would you say?
I would tell her to relax. Don’t be embarrassed. Everyone has their issues. To be honest though, I don’t really listen to my own advice because I’m still embarrassed.
Q: How often do you think about the time when you were homeless? Does it come up often?
It comes up a lot actually. We are still financially unstable and the fear of homelessness is very real. I know that we are not doing very well so I try to not ask for much and I try to show appreciation for what I have so that my parents don’t feel guilty.
Q: If you had to make a three item Christmas wish list right now, what would be on it?
Makeup, clothes, and a phone.
Q: Why makeup?
My mom was very into makeup and she showed me how to use it, so I’ve been using makeup my entire life. I want to make a career out of it as a mortuary beautician. Makeup allows me to see the changes I can make. I like seeing how I have improved in putting makeup on myself and it makes me feel like I have a future with it.
Q: Why a mortuary beautician?
I like makeup, but I’m really not social at all. I like silence and isolation. I don’t like worrying about other people’s opinions, good or bad. One day I heard about mortuary beauticians and I thought it was interesting. I always wanted to work with makeup, but I was afraid of people watching me work and the critiques that they would give. You don’t really have that problem when you put makeup on dead people.
Q: Why clothes?
I want to be able to express myself with my clothing and not just wear the same thing every single day. I want to be able to choose what I’m wearing based on what I’m feeling. I’ve never been wealthy so that’s never been a choice.
Q: Are you happy at Eastside?
No, I’m not. I would much rather be back in Houston but I can’t. I was happy there. I had friends, I had a clique that I belonged to, I liked my school, I had fun, and I had my daily places I would go. I hate that landlord, she ruined my life. We didn’t deserve to get kicked out and I didn’t deserve to leave my school and all my friends.
Before Marilynn shared that story with us, no one at Eastside knew that she lived out of her car at a point in her life. She was similarly unaware that homelessness is a far too common experience on our campus.
