The quote “The world is big, and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark” captures how it feels to move away from home to go to school. It highlights the desire to experience new things and expand beyond familiar surroundings. Moving away from home for the first time can be hard, but it’s also rewarding. Your first move can influence your growth in several ways:
Emotional Growth
Leaving the closeness and convenience of home can be emotionally challenging, because it requires you to navigate new social and cultural environments and form new relationships. This experience can lead to a tremendous sense of freedom, self-reliance, and adaptability. At the same time, the lack of nearby support and advice can lead to feelings of homesickness and isolation, which can be hard to cope with.
Once you spend enough time on your own to settle into a comfortable routine, you’ll realize that you’re likely able to cope with difficult situations more easily than you could before your move. Facing situations outside of your comfort zone will build your resilience like nothing else you’ve ever experienced.
Newfound Independence
When you’re on your own for the first time, life forces you to take on additional responsibilities and make important decisions. These decisions involve choosing how to budget, finding housing, and ensuring that you have reliable transportation. If your family previously helped you with these things, being on your own can feel anxiety-provoking. There’s no question that independence can be incredibly empowering, but it can also easily become.
Relocating to a new city or a different country can present significant challenges. Beyond adjusting to a new living environment, you often also need help with securing employment and finding new friends. This process can be particularly daunting, but it can also lead to an increased sense of personal security once you realize that you can figure out all of the logistics with less assistance.
Navigating Finances and Health Care
Moving away from home necessitates greater independence in managing your finances and your health. You may need to budget, save, and pay bills on time for the first time in your life. These changes can impact your physical and mental well-being, including your diet, exercise habits, and medical care. Effectively managing finances and health insurance can be complicated, especially when you’re also a student. However, being on your own will help you learn how much you can spend, where you allocate most of your money, and how to pay for health care expenses.
Living independently can teach you a variety of new skills and help you understand when you should ask for help. Growing emotionally, building your own routine, and managing your needs will be difficult at first, but you’ll eventually find that you’re stronger than you know. Although moving away from home and being on your own can be challenging, leaving your comfort zone and creating your own life will be incredibly rewarding. It’s OK to be scared to leave your family, but know that you will build a life that you love.
Featured Photo by Camila Rubio Varon on Unsplash.
