I'm a single mom and live with my 5 kids in a 1-bedroom apartment. I want to show them I'm not ashamed of our home.

• Leticia Colorado is a 33-year-old single mother working as a Lyft and DoorDash driver in California.
• She went viral in November after sharing an apartment tour and talking about giving up her bedroom.
• She told BI she used to be embarrassed by her living situation but now wants to share her story.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Leticia Colorado about her decision to give up her only bedroom to her 11-year-old daughter. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I'm a single mother of five who lives in a one-bedroom apartment in Pittsburg, California. When I moved in with my kids (ages 3, 4, 6, 11, and 17) in April 2023, I gave up the only bedroom to my 11-year-old daughter, Se'Lia, so that she could have some privacy.

When we moved into the apartment, it was a no-brainer decision for me. Before this place, we lived with a big family in a five-bedroom house with my ex-partner. We were homeless before then, so for a long time we did not have our own space.

I gave Se'Lia the bedroom because I knew how much she was yearning for it. I knew it would be nice for her to be able to close the door if she needed alone time, to do homework, or to invite a friend over. She can also hang up her artwork in there. It was really important for me to know that she feels she has a sense of privacy and a space to express who she is as an individual.

Before going viral, I was embarrassed to talk about my struggles

In November, I uploaded a TikTok about our living situation that ended up getting over 11 million views. Prior to posting that video, I was embarrassed about the apartment. I didn't even want to invite anybody to my house to see how I lived.

I ultimately decided to post after a friend kept pushing me to share my story. As I told my story — including my first video in that same month about being turned away at Costco because my membership expired and I couldn't afford to renew it — I grew more and more confident.

I had also seen a lot of content online that would make me more depressed because it created this picture that everyone was living this good life — that everyone had money and their kids were very well dressed. But there are so many of us out there who are really struggling to make it. For work, I drive for Lyft and do DoorDash since I can't do normal work hours because I have to drive my kids to and from school.

The video was my way of letting all my single moms know that if this is all you can afford, and your kids are happy and healthy, then don't let anyone make you feel less-than. Just live your life. Who cares what people say; they're not paying your bills.

Giving the bedroom to my daughter was an overwhelmingly gratifying moment

When I told Se'Lia it would be her room, she was on cloud nine. I wish I would've recorded it. I don't think I've ever seen my daughter so happy. It was a tearful moment for her. It was an overwhelming feeling for both of us. I was just happy to make her that happy.

The room is hers, but she technically shares it with my 17-year-old son, who only stays with us on the weekends. She has a trundle bed, which pools out a second bed. Everyone shares the closet in the room. My three youngest kids and I sleep on a bed in the living room.

My kids love the living situation. They call my house "The White House." The apartments outside are white. I keep minimal things in my apartment so the kids have extra space. They can ride their scooters around. They have everything they want in terms of toys.

The video surprisingly got a lot of hate, from viewers commenting, "Call CPS," to people trying to make me feel like I'm a bad mom or a bad person. I've had people say, "Stop having kids," "Close your legs," and "Have you ever heard of birth control?"

But the amount of love and support is so motivating. There's so much love in the comments I don't even need to clap back — everyone claps back for me.

A lot of mothers have shared their own stories in the comments, and people across the world have commented, from Uganda and Italy to Spain and India. Based on the comments I get, this is how a lot of people live because this economy is bad and things are so expensive. But few people feel comfortable putting it out there.