Unless we’ve moved around a lot during our childhood, most of us have grown up in the same town for our whole lives. We’ve gone to elementary school, then middle school, then high school with all the same kids. We spent our weekends at the same parks, movie theaters and food places. While I love my hometown, leaving that routine for college was the best decision I’ve ever made, and here’s why.
When it comes around time to start applying for colleges, you watch all of your friends pick their top schools and try to decide what they want to do. Some people decide they're only going to apply to the local community college, some people apply to schools all over the state and some people even apply out of state, or all the way on the opposite coast. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to stay in state, but be far enough from home that I could learn to live my own life, separate of my family, and then still be close enough to drive home for breaks.
Being away from family and everything you’ve known your entire life can be scary and intimidating. However, it’s worth it. Our whole lives, we’ve only ever been exposed to the type of people that have grown up in our area. Going away to college gives you the opportunity to meet hundreds of other people your age that are from all over the United States. Just from having friends from different areas, I’ve learned so much more than I thought I would have. Even though we all live in the same country, cultures in different areas are more different than we think, and we all have a thing or two to learn from each other. In my opinion, staying in the same area that you grew up in only limits your experiences. Being exposed to different types of people will prove to be extremely important later in life, when you finally do move away from home.
A lot of people also stick to living at home for financial reasons. College is expensive, and living in a dorm or apartment, and having to buy your own food, just adds to that cost. There are so many people that can’t afford this opportunity and stay at home because they have no other option, which is why I strongly encourage anyone that can afford this opportunity to take it. You may think it’s not worth it, and it’ll be cheaper and easier to go to the local community college for two years and then transfer, but the experience you’re giving up is priceless.
College is about broadening your horizons. It’s about preparing you to be a functioning and successful part of our society. It’s about learning to accept and understand differences between people, and finding yourself in the end. In my opinion, none of these things can be done from under the roof of your parents’ house. Moving to a whole other city for college has taught me more than I could ever have thought, and exposed me to new experiences that I wouldn’t trade for anything. It’s the greatest decision I’ve ever made, and I strongly recommend everyone does the same if they have the opportunity to.
