What I’ve learned about being 2,000+ miles away from home.

I miss home. There’s no getting around that. And honestly as often as I have heard from others that being so far away from home would be extremely tough, it was the distance itself that taught me the most about myself and my capabilities.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my family and friends more than anything, but I felt this need to be somewhere entirely new. On my own. I felt like I needed to learn how to fend for myself.

It’s not like I’m setting off to venture the Amazon, I know that, but being on your own in college is a huge step. And one could even argue that surviving college is almost as hard as surviving the Amazon.

The one thing that I have found most apparent in the past few months, is that being on your own allows you to grow as an individual immensely. I have had the chance to really think, and figure out who I am and what I want.

Responsibility is another key factor of self-growth, and one of the greatest tests of responsibility, in my opinion, is managing your time (and pushing yourself to go to class). My mom isn't there to flicker the light switch on and off to wake me up or yell "rise and shine!" As awesome as it would be if my roommate did that, I'm pretty sure that would make our living arrangement a little awkward. This goes for college students near and far away from home all the same, but being so far away from home makes it feel just a little different.

Not only am I a plane ride away from home, but there's a 2 hour time difference between Colorado and New Jersey, where I'm from. So when I am usually eating dinner my mom and dad have already gone to bed.

All these things I have come to realize are little things that build character in a person. It really does prepare you for the real world and the independence that comes with it. You learn to discipline yourself in a way that your parents once did. Forcing yourself to workout, making sure you eat something, or even going to bed at a reasonable hour are all things that matures a person.

Having at least a person or two nearby who you can go to for help is also a must, in my opinion. In my case I have family in the same town as my college which has been a godsend. Not only do I get to see them more often than I did while I was living at home, but I have a home away from home.

All in all, going far away for college has proven to be an incredible experience for me. I do think that you should be absolutely sure that you can handle being so far away from home, however. If this is something that you think you want, then I say do it. Try it and if it doesn't work out, that is perfectly ok. But I'm telling you that if you do decide to push yourself outside of your comfort zone, or maybe even 2000 miles outside of your comfort zone, you will not regret it.