For those of you who made the decision to go far, far away for college, lived under one roof with your family for nearly 18 years, and if your parents were anything like mine, once you were gone you had an endless amount of independence, which you never thought existed. However, that independence led to a mass amount of junk food and a pile of dirty clothes, which did not get washed for at least…a semester. Here are five anxieties you’ll face while living on your own for the first time.
1. Paying Bills
Up until this point, nearly every living expense was taken care of for you. Now all of a sudden you're in charge of utility bills and rent and other things you still haven't even realized yet. But don't worry, there's YouTube tutorials for everything, paying bills included.
2. Grocery Shopping
The one thing you'll miss the most while away at school will be those home cooked meals, which didn't even taste good at the time. But mom’s string bean casserole never sounded more appetizing once being compared to the dining hall food. So now that grocery shopping is an option for myself, I plan on hopefully trying to remember those recipes I saw mom and grandma cook rather than filling my basket with chips and hot pockets... fingers crossed.
3. Cooking
Once you got the grocery shopping down to an art, its time to turn on the food network for some true inspiration. The majority of my prior cooking consisted of grilled cheese and cereal, but that was the old me. The freshman 15 was definitely no hoax and now that I'm no longer a freshman, I don't have an excuse for anymore excessive weight gain.
4. Cleaning
One thing I have learned while at school is that there is nothing more uninviting than a messy living space. And because I don't want to be one of those people with a pile of dirty dishes in the sink or a bug infestation, cleaning the apartment must become a priority.
5. Laundry
One aspect of cleaning, which for many is the most tricky (myself included) is laundry. For a machine that is meant to do one thing, I’ve always wondered why there's so many buttons. Until college, I was fortunate to have a mother who did my laundry; now I'm fortunate if I don't shrink at least one article of clothing per load.
Living on your own sounds like fun and games, until you get that first rent check. But if you're able to conquer all five anxieties with absolutely no one at all, then this is highly deserved:
