Does anyone have any tips for the AT-SAT?

I'm Running Away From Home...Anyone Have Any Tips?

• I'm 13,And Really Want To Run Away From Home. Don't Say I'm Not Old Enough To Make Up My Own Mind,Because In My World,You Have To Grow Up Fast. I Can Gather Enough Food And Water For 2 Weeks,And Am Saving Up The Money. I Live In A City And Have A Lot Of Relatives Nearby. My Friends Don't Know What I'm Going Through,And They Don't See Anything Wrong With Me,And When I Tell Them That I Want To Run Away,They Just Laugh And Say I'm Joking,But I'm Not. What I Have Will Get Me Nowhere,But I'm Saving And Waiting For The Right Time. I Have Not Yet Found A Suitable Place To Stay When I Leave,But I Could Stay With A Friend. Please,Does Anybody Have Any Tips,Apart From Trying To Persuade Me To Stay At Home? I Would Love Anyone To Help Me. The Reasons Why I Want To Leave Are Too Personal That I Want To Share Online,But I Am Sure This Is What I Want. I'm Brave,Strong And Determined To Make This Work Out For Me,And You'll Probably All Doubt Me Like The Others Do,But If Anyone Out There Has Any Tips,Not Sympathy Because I Don't Need It,But Tips. I Know I'm Only 13,But As I Said,I've Grown Up Too Much-My Childhood Lasted Until I Was About 4,I'm StreetSmart,Not Stupid. Thank You So Much For Your Time.

• Answer:

  Important Points: *You need 3 things -food, shelter, water Food: It wouldn't be right if you just mooched off your friend for food. Food shelters are one option if you know where they are but I've never gotten food from one so I don't know the procedure. Ramen, canned food, and bread are all cheap. If you find a job at a fast food place you might get free food that would otherwise be tossed but this won't be easy as you're only 13. Dumpster diving has good food often but do research on legality and safety. Make sure you eat healthy because getting sick will ruin your plan. Shelter: I'm not sure who your friend is but if they're your age or a relative, I'm sure you'll be sent back to where you belong. You could find a homeless shelter but that could be dangerous. If you're camping oriented you could find a place in the woods and maybe even fish for food but this takes a lot of work. It may be illegal if it's private land or you may encounter people who will send you back. Don't sleep in the streets as this will be very for you. Consider getting a gym membership so you can use the showers and maybe use the lockers as storage. Water: Stay hydrated. Restaurants, water fountains from stores, just keep drinking *Keep fit, exercise daily to stay healthy *Backpacks are heavy, be fit before you leave *If possible, have a weapon with you. There are very bad people in the world and very few 13 year old girls can take on a 200 pound assailant *Keep in touch with people. Most libraries have free Internet you can use and regardless of what you think, friends and family will miss you. *Mind the weather. Rain, snow and sleet are very cold and some seasons are colder than others. Have layers of clothes you can change out of or into during bad weather *CONFRONT YOUR PROBLEMS, DON'T RUN AWAY FROM THEM You will soon find of you try this that it's not worth it. Any crap you're dealing with can't be worse than constantly being on the run and being hungry and cold. It will set you back a long ways in goals that you could be achieving. Running away will cause you to miss school and most jobs nowadays required a solid college education. Take speed bumps in your life and take them as challenges to overcome. I know that you can do it. Life can be shitty but it's up to you if you're going to let it take over YOUR life. Keep your head up. Whatever you choose to do, I hope you put a great deal of thought to it. Life's short, live it up. Which implies not dying.