For five years, Eliza Sprague was homeless. She'd sleep here and there. At friends' houses. And back and forth at her parents' home.

Then she spent time on the beach, was on drugs and lived a life that went from one party to the next. Still, she finished high school and earned her diploma.

But then she got pregnant, and that changed her life.

"I had to do it," said the 23-year-old Sprague. "I did it all for my daughter. She was my goal for everything. I gave up drugs. I gave up partying. She changed my life and made me decide to do good."

Today Sprague is celebrating her daughter's second birthday. And tonight she'll go to work as a security guard. She's not on welfare anymore. And she hopes by next Christmas that she will be able to provide for her daughter. She's looking to move near her grandparents in California. Long term, she hopes to someday go to college to become a nurse.

"I'm barely making it, but I'm doing it," Sprague said. "I'm trying to make the rent and put food in the house. I want to see my family and they've never met my daughter."

She works from 8:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. During the day, she spends time with her daughter and sleeps in between her naps in their studio apartment at Maililand Transitional Housing in Wai'anae.

As a resident of the transitional housing, she's had to attend classes on budgeting and how to find a job. She has worked with Healthy Start for parenting classes. And now she's ready for the next step, she said.

She hopes that if someone adopts her and her daughter, she can get some learning toys, clothes and shoes for her daughter.

"She's really smart and doesn't have a lot of toys," Sprague said. "She has six stuffed animals and is happy. I don't want any big items because I want to move by March when we're supposed to move out of Maililand."