Though most people go through the bittersweet transition of starting college and leaving home simultaneously, I am in the rare situation of moving on campus after already experiencing a year of college. Yet, breaking up the transition from childhood to adulthood by staying at home for a year has done nothing to lessen the momentous occasion of moving out, which will officially come into fruition in just over two weeks.
As it began to hit me and my loved ones that I was actually leaving, for real and for true, the nonsensical mixture of excitement and depression was overwhelming. So, with a venue of fellow college students to vent to, I felt the need to list all the good — and the bad —of leaving for college.
1. You leave your family.
If you are a teenager or older, then you are no doubt driven absolutely insane by your family at least 50 percent of the time. If you aren't driven out of your mind by them, then there is something wrong with you.
But, on the other end, even though they drive us crazy, we love our families,and whether we want to or not, we will miss them. No mom to get us up for school in the morning. No dad worrying about you when you aren't home until late. No one to greet you when you come home. No brother or sister to pick on when you get bored. No one around who understands and knows you quite like they do.
2. You get to live with your friends.
If you're living in an apartment or dorm with a friend, then it's like a year-long sleepover. You have someone to share clothes with, someone to help you with your hair and makeup, and someone to talk to at all hours.
But living with people is hard. If you fight with said friend, then there is no escape. You live together. If you or your roommate has an irritating habit, is messy or brings people to stay with you all the time against your wishes, then it could lead to issues in your friendship, fights and general discomfort.
3. You get to do your own grocery shopping.
Finally, you get to pick what is waiting for you in your fridge when you go hunting for a midnight snack. You get to decide what kind of cereal you have in the morning, and whether there is ice cream filling your freezer and what kind of ice cream it is.
But, when you get to pick what food you eat, chances are the "freshman 15" will become a reality. And, when you are the one doing the shopping, you are the one who has to manage the budget, and let's face it, math is hard and so is saving money. Because splurging on expensive food or too much desert is fun.
4. You decide your curfew.
If you want to stay up until five in the morning, then you can! If you want to go out with friends and never come back, then you can! If you want to stay with a significant other overnight, then go for it!
But that means you will probably stay out too late too often, and there are classes, work shifts and responsibilities waiting when you wake up from just three hours of sleep.
5. It's one of the first big steps toward "growing up."
Growing up is great. You get to think for yourself, pick out your own clothes, make your own decisions, stay up late, do whatever you want with whoever you want (as long as you aren't breaking any laws...) and in general, have absolute freedom.
But adulthood also means cleaning up your own messes, making your own doctor's appointments, worrying about your ever-shrinking balance in your bank account and you realize that freedom means responsibility -- and responsibility is scary.
Don't get me wrong, moving out is amazing. It's exciting, fun and I personally cannot wait for move-in day to arrive. But I also recognize how wonderful the stage of my life I'm leaving behind is. I will miss my parents' loving watch and the lack of responsibility that living at home includes. But I get to decorate my own space, I get to spend a year with one of my best friends in the bed opposite me and above all, I get to experience the adventure of a new chapter in my life, as will you if you haven't already taken that leap into the world.