In the first half of my life, it was hard to say which was a bigger challenge: having a learning disability or being homeless twice. In 2015 I was in the 4th grade and my family and I lived in Portland. The landlord raised the rent to where my parents couldn’t afford it, so we had to move. We were in the car for two hours when we got a call to accept us into a homeless shelter called Human Solutions. Still, there were a lot of drugs and violence around the place, making our next departure easier. We left that shelter and stayed in a Hotel called Budget Inn. We stayed for about 5 months before we left and moved in with my dad’s friend. Eventually, that too becomes unmanageable. He and my family fell out because he had a crush on my mother. It was 2016 when we got accepted into another shelter named Goose Hollow. It was spotless, there wasn’t any needles on the floor and was clean and free of bodily substances, and we were glad there were many people there. There was good food for all day. Finally feeling settled, I could focus on school again. We stayed at Goose Hollow for 3 more months until we got put into a program that moved us into a place named Timberline. Unfortunately, we had to leave after a couple months because my moms disability. We moved to an apartment complex and we lived there for two years. At the time my reading skills increased a lot. In middle school i felt better knowing that i had a roof over my head and a place that didn't smell bad. i was still worried that something could happen, but wasn’t overly stressed about it when we had to move for a rent increase. We then went to another shelter and stayed there for over a month. I met another kid named Malachi just like me. His family was there because of exorbitant rents. Malachi and I went to the same middle school, we both played minecraft a lot which made us both forget what it was like in the shelter. Once again, my Family and I left for another shelter, staying there for 5 months. I was in the middle of 7th grade when we moved out of the shelter and to our new home. I slept on the floor and slept like a baby. Although the name has changed to Township, we haven’t left. I went to Sherwood Middle School when the COVID-19 pandemic happened, but having a place to stay helped me get by. I didn’t let being homeless stop me, or my learning disability. I feel like I understand more about what it's like to have a roof over your head. It made me more appreciative and thankful to have the little things that others may or may not have. I also understand not knowing how to accomplish certain tasks doesn't mean you should quit.