Leaving your hometown to move somewhere completely different can be both scary and challenging--especially after high school, when you're only 18 years old. I was rather excited to move away, but nervous of everyone whom I was leaving behind. I grew up spending everyday with my parents, my brothers, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. When I first visited Florida it literally felt like a whole different universe. It was weird because I never went on planes or traveled to different states other than the ones surrounding Pennsylvania. I was mind blown, that everything I saw in pictures were just a plane ride away. Like I realized my hometown is not the only place in the world.
Your hometown is comforting and warm. It's filled with memories that you'll always cherish and friends that know everything about you. The inside jokes, rival high schools and those places you've spent hours at with your friends feel like the classic book you never want to put down. However, the thing is, you need to get out. I'm not saying you have to go away to college or spend insane amounts of money to travel.
I have not been away for a long period of time, but I feel like the surrounding towns around here are somewhere I could see living forever. I have went back to my actual hometown and once I seen everyone, I'm ready to come back to the life I created in Florida within a few short months. Back in Philadelphia, I felt like I could never properly grow. I never paid for my own things, withheld a steady job, never dealt with anything alone, simply I now make my own decisions, don't call out of work, pay for my own things and form my own opinions and growing now more than ever.
Moving away I experienced tons of changes, I grew up with everything near me, almost walking distance. I moved down south and everything is a distance to travel, I definitely don't mind the driving its just different. I went down south where people hold doors, and say "yes ma'm, and no sir", "some people have accents, are referring to shopping carts as buggy's, sneakers as tennis shoes, saying phrases that I've never heard, constantly saying "y'all", and when you act stupid they say "bless your heart". I love the atmosphere, and the southern charm people have. I went from a big town to a small town when everyone knows everyone, and you run into everybody and I absolutely love it.
I moved 17 hours away from where I grew up and I simply am still so excited for all the adventures I'm still bound to go on. I seen everything I could see up north near me, Philadelphia, New York City, Boston, Pittsburg, West Virginia, and all the other surroundings.
I'm not expecting you to go out and travel the world on a whim, but definitely go grab a taste of a place that's different from your norm. It opens your eyes to how much diversity there really is in the world. Not only does it allow you to experience new things, it also allows you to find amazing opportunities that you could only dream of. So, get out while you can and if you find those places have no comparison to home, then at least you can say you did it and not have to wonder "what if..." throughout the rest of your life.
I have made life long friends home, I have my family back home. I love that I'm getting to know my other side of the family being down here. I stepped out of so many comfort zones, I built my confidence higher, I take full responsibility for every choice I made, I learned how to be independent, go with my own gut and appreciate more when I go home.
3 months of living down south on the Florida Panhandle, and I could not be happier or love it anymore. Im thankful for every opportunity, I have met the most amazing people. But the honest answer is that I don't know if Florida is forever my home, what I learned from moving, is that life is precious and there are so many things I have not seen, and so many horizons to see. But, simply I fall in love with Florida more everyday.
So with all that my best advice is don't conclude yourself to one perspective. Go see what you always dreamed of seeing, catch those airline sales and go see something. Don't let people tell you the right and wrong way to go in your life, go discover yourself and see yourself. Make your own beginnings and explore what this world has to offer.
"When setting out on a journey, don't seek advice from those who never left home".