When looking for a college, a common concern is whether or not the schools you are looking at are too far away from home. I just wanted to take a second to tell you, they are not.
1. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Leaving the people you love at home will only strengthen your relationship with them. The time you spend away from the people you have grown up with will help you to realize who is meant to play a part in the rest of your life, and who was only supposed to be there temporarily. The relationships you maintain from home while you are away at college will only continue to grow.
2. Going away makes coming home so much sweeter.
By going far away for college, coming home becomes your escape from reality. It will be your safe place, the place you go to put your anxiety aside, and the only place where you are finally able to feel yourself relax. Plus, you learn to appreciate homemade food so much more.
3. The best friends you have when you leave will still be your best friends when you come home.
Going away to college doesn't mean you have to find a new best friend; it just gives you the opportunity to grow in your relationships with your best friends from home and have thousands of new stories to tell them at the end of the week.
4. When you go far away, people from home are more likely to visit.
Look at you! You are venturing out, exploring places that the people from your small town haven't thought of going, and now that you're there, they can experience it, too. You get to welcome them to your turf and be their tour guide.
5. The relationships you have at home are going to change whether you go to school 5 miles or 500 miles away.
When you live with your parents, they have control. When you live on your own, you are in control. Therefore, your relationship with them will change. Instead of being your disciplinarian, they will become your mentor. Their instruction will turn into advise and your relationship will turn into a friendship.
6. Oh, the people you will meet.
The beautiful thing about college is that it is the definition of the melting pot. I promise, you are not the only kid whose home is far away. There are students from other countries and states all there for the same reason you are. By venturing out, you will learn so much about so many different cultures and customs from all over the world, and it is so awesome to have friends from places like Australia or Chile.
Going far away from school is scary, but so worth it. Don't sell yourself short, give it a shot. If you don't like it, you can always come home next semester. Grow, expand your wings, and allow yourself to become the person you dream of being.
