“The Thoughts of a Homeless Child. Part 2”

A continued series of the jumbled and articulate thoughts of a nineteen year old. 

By: Shyloh

Word on the Street Issue 49, November 2024

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Recently I wrote about reclaiming youth and growing up too fast. Today I want to write about something else. I don’t know if I’m the only one who finds myself doing things I don’t enjoy, but I assume I’m not alone. My day to day activities don’t tend to vary a lot, and they become quite repetitive. Here’s a rundown of my day. I usually wake up at about 8:15-8:30 and head over to my mental well-being group. After group, I might stay for a couple hours and spend time on my phone. Depending on which friend texts me first I’ll head over toward them and spend a good part of my day with them. We walk around Boise and go to one of four places. Ann Morrison Park, the Boise library, Corpus Christi day center, or the Boise Capitol. Of course during this whole period of hanging out with my friends, I’m scrolling on TikTok. After that we head to Interfaith Sanctuary at 5:30-6:00 o’clock to check in and I sit on my phone until whenever I pass out from exhaustion. Did you notice a repeating trend? During the whole day I’m on my phone. I don’t know if I’m the only one who has a problem with being distracted with technology. There’s always that “one last thing” to do before we turn off the phone, or the one last notification ding we have to check before we detach ourselves from the distractions of the Internet. I love being distracted from the reality of my life. It’s easy to get lost in the entertainment social media offers us, and then lose track of time in the reality we live in. Three hours online feels like a half an hour. Time flies by. I was released from jail seven months ago, and yet I haven’t gotten a job, I haven’t gotten a driver’s license, and haven’t applied for scholarships. My question to myself and to you is what are we going to do about it? Signing out, Shyloh