We left off with Krissy Simmons as she was about to ask her parents whether she could move back home while attending
cosmetology school. Her school,
CHIC University of Cosmetology an Empire School, was only 15 minutes from her parents'
Portage, Michigan, home. It would be perfect—well, perfect if she weren't already 24 years old. She liked her independence, and her parents were not used to shelling out living expenses for their oldest daughter; two of their three other children were also in college. But her parents, and Krissy's brother still in high school, welcomed Krissy home.
"My parents made me feel good about the fact that I was continuing my education and not just living at home for a free ride," Krissy reports. "I went to school 40 hours a week and tried to work 20 hours a week in retail. Believe me, the money I made just went right back into my gas tank. Although my parents couldn't pay tuition, they were amazing in other ways. Gotta love free rent + utilities! They also helped with car insurance and occasionally car payments. I kept thinking that I should be on my own two feet, but my family never made me feel as though I owed them anything. I couldn't ask for better parents, let me tell ya!"
January arrived, and Krissy started
cosmetology school. At that point she had no idea that life had a few challenges in store for her in the year to come. Next time!