Graduating college is a life-changing event. You go from the shelter and comfort of campus, where everyone you know is within a 2-mile radius and the days just melt together, to the real world, where every day can be completely unexpected and different.

Having just graduated college myself, so much has changed in my life already. I got the job I longed for in the city I longed to move to, and within a two week time frame I had found a place to live, bought furniture, set up a bank account, etc.

I knew the moment I got the job offer that my life was forever changed.

Sure, I would daydream about my possible future, but now knowing that it is a reality, I'm both excited and anxious. It didn't finally hit me that the life I once knew was over until I officially signed my apartment lease. Then it dawned on me. I would never really live in my parents' house again or be a resident of my hometown.

Don't get me wrong, this is what I've always wanted; to escape my snow globe of a life and be free. However, now that it's actually happening my head's spinning and I can't clearly foresee what the future holds in store anymore.

"Will I like my job? Will I like my apartment/neighborhood? Will I make more friends? Will my current friends stay my friends?" "How will I budget my money?" "When will I be able to afford a car?" "Am I really ready to live completely on my own?"

All these thoughts and more have been swirling in my mind for weeks.

Fortunately for me, I am only moving 90 minutes away from my hometown and a majority of my friends will be living in the same city as I am, so that thought alone is a comfort in such a transitional time.

While I am beyond grateful to have gotten a job and place of my own right out of college, I can't help but feel bittersweet about moving. There is so much I am going to miss:

I'll miss my hometown, in a way, for it is here where I grew up and experienced so many life changes, becoming the person I am today.

I'll miss my parents with all my heart and seeing them each day; stuff we as young adults realize we took for granted after all these years.

I'll miss my house, my room, my bed.

I'll miss my mom's cooking, as I am not even half as good a cook as she.

I'll miss talking with my dad over breakfast about whatever's been going on in my life.

I'll miss living a mile away from my best friend, the first time in our 10 year friendship that we'll be living far apart (I'm just a call away!).

And finally, I'll miss being a "kid," as a few weeks from now starts my full-time job and my actual adult life. Gone are the days of wearing whatever I want every day, sleeping in on a Wednesday, staying out late on a Tuesday, having all the time in the world to myself.

That part of my life is over.

But you know what? Instead of being sad about all these endings, I've chosen to be excited and look forward to all that is to come. Yes, my life as I've known it for these past 22 years is over, but my new life can potentially be so much better.

It's kind of like how I felt about starting college, as I had no idea what to expect. However, I now look back on those four years as being the best four years of my life so far, so I can only imagine how much greater life can be from here on out.

Yes, I'm leaving home, I'm leaving my old life behind. My dreams of real employment and independence have finally come true. Leaving my hometown and moving to a new place is something I have wanted since I was 15-years-old, and I am so grateful that things have worked out so well because four months ago this was something I could only dream of.

While I'm sad about this chapter being done, I can only wait with excitement to see what this new chapter holds for me.

I'm ready.