There comes a point near the end of every college student's career where we have to make some scary decisions. One of the biggest decisions being, where do I live after I leave this college town?
There are usually two options, and I am not sure which one is scarier. Do I move back in with Mom and Dad? Or do I attempt to pay my own way, and get my own place? Like a lot of students, I am taking the first option; I am moving back home.
People keep asking me where I am going to live, and with a hesitant answer, I am saying that I am moving back to my hometown with my parents. People who have not been to college don't seem to understand why we are so nervous and hesitant to move back, but here's why:
Four years ago I made one of the best decisions of my life. I left for a university, far away from everything I knew. Since being at this place, I have grown into a person I really like. I am much more brave, much more independent, and much more confident. I am leaving this place a new person, and I am going back to a town I once loved. However, I don't love that town like I once did because I am this new person.
Your hometown is kind of like your ex boyfriend; you used to really think you loved him, you thought everything about him was great — until you broke up.
Once you left him, you saw some flaws, and you learned a lot. When you see him on the street now, it's a very nice visit, but you know not to settle back down with; you know you have a new way of life.
On top of this, everyone I know from my hometown has babies or a fiancé; which is fine, I am happy for them, and I respect their lifestyle. But that's not exactly the direction I want to take in life.
This meaning — it'll be really hard to find friends with my same interest again. Especially since most of my other high school friends are not moving home. They are still in school, going to grad school or following a job.
Next on the list — the one everyone makes a big deal about — is living under your parents' roof again. This one, I am not as concerned with; I'm excited to wake up to coffee every morning, a house not destroyed by college roommates, and my biggest support system.
But, there is still that lifestyle change. Sometimes, I eat in my room in college or I come home at 3 a.m. I don't want to be questioned on the who/what/where of my plans — sometimes I just go.
At the same time, I am grateful for my parents. So, I will have to adjust from how I live now, and that can also be scary.
Lastly, being back home just brings up a lot of memories — good and bad. A lot of plans I once had, and a lot of familiar faces that I just needed to leave behind. Moving back home is like opening up a can of worms; feeling like the past should have been left in the past.
The fear of the adjustment to a new life sneaks up on you, and this time — you didn't really choose your new life. You only had two options: to be broke or to live with Mom and Dad. This new life might not just be four years, it could be forever, and that can be very intimidating when just four years ago, the world was at your finger tips.
