There are some people who will completely disagree with the fact that moving away to college is not actually "moving out" of your parents' house. I mean, all of your stuff is still in that room you grew up in and when winter break rolls around, you still end up going back there and cuddling with your dog 24/7. And even though it may not seem like you've moved out in these moments, the stretch of time when you're on your own in your room, thinking about all the stuff you have to do for yourself now, feels like what I imagine being moved out to feel like. College is a stepping stone move. You're not completely free of your parents reign over you and all the luxuries that come with having their house as your home base, but the time you spend away is very independent and freeing and it gives you a taste of what it's like to move out of your parents house, without dropping all the responsibility of paying bills and hiring a plumber who isn't a crazy serial killer to fix the pipe under your sink.

For me, moving to college was one of the best things that's ever happened to me. Parents may not realize it, but just their presence around us all the time, as we grow to be college age, feels a little bit like being smothered. Personally, I was kind of forced to grow up at a young age and as I got to the 17 and 18 age range I felt sometimes that waking up and dealing with everyone in my house was becoming such a chore. This is not meant to say that I don't love them most of the time! Think about it, moms, dads, and adults alike, do you want your parents living in your house with you and treating you as they've always treated you as a child? I know I can't speak for everyone but I know for sure my parents do not want that (Sorry Nana, Papa and Grammy!) And again, my grandparents are the best people. We love them endlessly, but my parents are moved out. They're adults and independent and they're at a point in their life where having a parent babying them every day would not be anything close to what they want. And everyone has to start that phase of their life somewhere. For most kids, it's starts around the end of high school and it's a good thing that going away to college comes very soon after that.

I wake up in the morning and no one comments on whatever time I choose get out of bed at. No one cares. No one is my parent here. I eat lunch when I want and I eat whatever I want and I hear absolutely nothing about it. I wear what I want to whatever event or occasion I want to. I come and go as I please and answer to no one. If I want a doughnut for dinner, you best believe I'm walking myself to Dunkin Donuts to get one. If I don't feel like doing laundry for three weeks straight, no one says a word to me. I can take a shower at four in the morning and I don't have to worry about the shower being right across from my parents bedroom. I can take a personal day from classes without having to fight with anyone over it. In fact, those around me understand what I'm going through and encourage me to stay healthy and happy! There is no fight back because there's no one there to oppose anything I do.

I'm in my second year of living on a campus that's over three hours from where I grew up and I've fallen head over heels for where I live now. Looking back over my first full school year of living away from my parents, I can honestly say that I found my independence and I had all the room in the world to learn and grow as much or as little as I wanted to. I was free to make mistakes and not be yelled at or punished for them, but free to accept the consequences as they come and deal with them or not deal with them however I wanted to. As I continue into year two of living on campus, I feel more and more each day that I'm finding who I truly am and a lot of parents will disagree, but coming straight from a person who is out on my own at college, that is just not possible when you're living under someone else's roof. And no words can express how much I love having people around me here who always support me in being just that; Myself just as I am, the many changing phases of things I'm discovering about me and all those little quirks that will just never go away, nothing more and nothing less.