Life with one towel

It's been almost a week in Rotterdam.

Not even close to finding a permanent home. Moving from a friend to a friend, with my borrowed sleeping bag. Not knowing where I am going to live next. What is going to happen tomorrow? My money is running out, and I fear for the future. I have no job yet, and my scholarship is late. I'm starting University on Monday, but I still live out of a suitcase.

Starting a student life from a scratch. Moving somewhere far, somewhere foreign. In a suitcase you put items most loved, worn, and cared for. You take tops, skirts, nicest dresses and at least three pairs of shoes. But you only take one towel...

Home sweet home. A towel for your face, another for your body, and another one for hair. You could even put one on the floor, for when you step out of the shower. Comfort. Home. 

But when you are homeless, you are helpless. Living on a friend's sofa, always feeling like you are in someone else's zone. You can only come when they are home and you need to go when they go. You wake up when the host wakes up, you don't have to, but it feels like you do. You live and adjust to their routine, their schedule of the day. You have no control.

Accepting help itself is not easy, and the feeling of being a hindrance is even worse.

So can you actually live with just one towel? Physically you can, but it is not enough.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs shows that happiness comes through fulfilling different levels of needs. The base -  food, shelter and warmth - is there, but that's all you've got. How about having safety? certainty? stability? Maslov argues that you can't reach for higher levels of happiness, when a part of the foundation is missing.

I agree, living with one towel sucks. But having a friend who lets you stay on their couch, no matter how uncomfortable it may be, is a pretty good start for a student life. So at the end of the day, I might have one towel, but I know there are always other people towels I can borrow.