As we go about our day wondering how to find time to study for that next test, 28-year-old Bonez wonders where he’ll sleep tonight.

Over the last one and a half years, Bonez has been homeless at least five times for more than a week, he says.

He has suffered three broken ribs, a broken jaw and currently deals with symptoms of pancreatitis, a condition which can cause severe abdominal pain, nausea and rapid heartbeat. Bonez said he had the condition operated on and was told by doctors he was about 12 hours from death if it had gone untreated.

Through it all, he still manages to remain independent. Bonez continues to support himself through sales of an album, Bonez Justice, which he mixed and produced all himself and released June 27. Bonez sells the album for $5 to anyone who wants to buy a copy — and he says his word of mouth is spreading.

The first night he tried to sell it, he sold seven copies outside of Starbusters.

“I almost had to create my own buzz,” he said.

Bonez originally created the album on a five to six-year-old computer using an old Radio Shack microphone. However, he says people don’t notice this and compliment him on the album’s professional quality. He makes copies, usually five to seven at a time, whenever he gets a chance using whatever computer he can find.

“This is all I have right now,” he said, referring to the album, which was actually the compilation of three different albums he intended to make before becoming homeless. “I almost appreciate being homeless right now.”

He admits being homeless helps increase sales and word of mouth about the album, though he also says DeKalb’s public facilities for the homeless are less than ideal.

“The homeless shelter here has a waiting list,” he said. “But DeKalb is beautiful to me … there’s no other place I’d rather be.”

He also doesn’t mind the negative connotation society holds toward the homeless.

“I love to prove them wrong,” he said. “They just make it so hard for you to get out … quicksand, that’s really what it is.”

Bonez wasn’t always homeless. He was married at one point and also has a four-year-old daughter. He seemed guarded about the specific circumstances which led to his current situation but said he has not had a reliable place to live for about the last five months. At one point, he was moving around from Elgin to Aurora to St. Louis, which was where he originally got the idea for the album.

Now, he says no day is like the one before it. He spends his time walking around, usually on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, promoting his album. Ever constant on his mind is trying to figure out where he will sleep that night. He has survived thus far by staying with friends and various other places when possible.

Bonez always continues to look toward the future. The man who admires Donald Trump has plans to one day produce his own television and radio show and play at the Convocation Center.

“Necessity is the mother of invention,” he said. “If you choose, there’s always another day to make things better.”