coming together finally

I've been stressing to much lately about various things, the most monumental about my living situation next year as well as this summer.
The working off of my ass has finally paid off and I am very excited about my internship this summer at Printfresh Studios, where I'm probably going to be mostly a slave while taking in valuable information about the industry I hope to someday become a part of. By some sick, twisted form of luck, I am staying in Center City Philadelphia for FREE mostly thanks to what is left of my mom's memory. She mentioned that her cousin's wife's daughter from her first marriage, Bernadine, was very well off and had multiple houses around the world, one of them being in Philly. After we exchanged some e-mails, I am now confident 100% that I have a place to stay free of charge and only around 10 blocks distance from the major sketchville that my internship is located in. Thankfully bike has been my most preferred method of transportation lately and as soon as I figure out why my gears have ceased to shift, I'll be mobile and look out for my on "the streets of Philadelphia". Anyone who gets that reference will receive extra credit points.
Anyway, Bernadine, my savior, has a house off 11th street and is only a couple blocks away from South Street. So taking a break from Baltimore for a slightly larger and less depressing city will probably be better for my sanity than spending another 3 solid months at my parent's house in Jersey. I wouldn't trade last summer for anything; I met some amazing people and had some really random but fun things happend to me. But that also came with a lot of stress from having my parents constantly in my face, even though they weren't trying to be nosy. It's just default for them I guess. I feel like I'm a better daughter from a distance. Even if they don't realize it.
After falling victim to the Gateway's trap, I can safely say that I will not miss on campus housing at all. Especially because 4 of my friends and I are 99% sure we are moving in to an entire house. 4 floors, 2 kitchens, 2 bathrooms, A BACK YARD, ROOF ACCESS, and all for under $500 a month. I will most likely be living on the second floor in a room twice the size of my room at home and probably at least 3 times what I'm living in in the Gateway. With a real closet and everything. The place is the former party house dubbed "Space Mountain" and is completely trashed by the guys who live there now, but when everything is finally repared and all their shit's out of the house, it will be beautiful. I cannot wait to move out this semester, as I feel like I'm living with 2 mutes who hate my guts.
The one downside to the house is the fact that it is so far up Park Ave that it touches North Ave, so security is always an issue. But it seems pretty quiet and there's a 15 + concrete wall to keep the undesireables out of the backyard. As long as I don't get jumped while I'm riding my bike... But it's worth the risk because it seems like every place I've called about or seen on Craigslist is asking $600 + a month and that shit won't fly.
I feel like I can finally relax a little bit since I've been so tense lately. It's understnadable though, with what I've been dealing with. I've never been so hurt in my life. And I don't think things can even be salvaged at this point. It's gone too far and I'm not going to keep blaming myself of being sorry for things that I shouldn't feel sorry about. It's been a huge learning experience though, and I know now that not everyone will treat you with the respect you deserve. And that's a damn shame.