the single girl's survival guide

I have actually acclimated to living alone better than I thought I would. It's definitely not as scary as I imagined it would be - especially when I'm in a new town where I don't know a soul and the only people who could rescue me are 3.5 hours away.

My one downfall is that I have an overactive imagination that sometimes gets the best of me. I have my moments where I swear there is a murderer hiding in my closet, a intruder just waiting for me to come home, or a ghost just waiting in the wings (or, in my case, watching Cartoon Network at 4 in the morning, but that's another story...).

So, I have a few precautions in place to make sure that I'm no one's victim (well, except for the ghosts, I'm not sure, exactly, how you defend yourself against that).

1. Pepper spray + keys.

When I get home late at night from work or just when I'm uncomfortable in a situation, I have one finger on my pepper spray. It was a gift from my friend's grandma and I keep it on my key chain for those just in case moments. The keys can also be used if you put them between your knuckles so that if you try to hit someone, you've got a little extra defense.

2. Phone.

I always have my phone on me. I keep it beside my bed at night, too. Just in case. It makes me feel safer knowing I always have it on hand. If there are any moments where I doubt my safety may be in jeopardy, I already have the first 2 digits of 911 dialed. Just in case. I'd rather be safe than sorry.

3. Locks.

This one's pretty common sense - but I keep my doors locked at all times. Latch and all. And I always look out the peep hole if anyone knocks.

4. A weapon.

This is an extremely bad example of a weapon. But, a hammer is all I have to defend myself from possible intruders. A baseball bat of golf club would be ideal so that you can remain as far as possible from someone. I don't believe in getting myself a gun because it would probably cause more harm than good in my case, but even having something as small and ordinary as a hammer makes me feel a bit safer living on my own. I keep it next to my bed. Just in case.

5. A scary attack animal.

Well. 4/5 isn't too bad.