I'm an Austin native. I have plenty of schools I could have gone to that are within a 2-hour radius, but there was a voice in my head that told me I would later regret being within arms reach of my parents. When it came time to decide on my university I did what every senior does, look at the pros and cons of each university. Now while many might see going to school 5 hours away as a huge con I saw it as a pro.

I grew up in a conservative Mexican household. My parents always did everything for me. I had very little freedom when it came to making decisions. A big part of me wanted to experience the freedom of being my own person making my own decisions without having to worry that my parents could step in any minute. 5 hours seemed like the perfect distance to where I could go every once in a while to visit but not have my parents breathing down my neck, watching my every move. It's almost like I wanted to get lost and I didn't want them to help me. I decided to move out and head over to the heart of the Pineywoods in East Texas.

At first, it was hard. Dealing with the culture shock and the different climate, but like I said, "I wanted to get lost and I didn't want help to get out." The first night I cried nonstop, how could I left the city and people I had been with my whole life. I thought a lot as I made my way around my classes, the longer I was in Nacogdoches the more it started to hit me. I really am alone out here and I have to survive with no one telling me what the right and wrong thing is. I was up for a challenge that I never had to deal with growing up under my parents wing my whole life.

The first semester went by and as time went I got more and more used to being independent. It started getting easier. I liked being more independent and having more responsibility, it kept me busy and I taught myself how to do a couple of things. I visited home twice the whole semester and it was nice having a little break and going back to how things used to be. My parents of course always brought up the fact that I lived so far away and that I was missing out on so much, but like I told them, I wanted to see the world through my own eyes, not through theirs. I wanted to go out and learn on my own.

After our long winter break, I found it hard to go back to school. During the month off I went back to living at home under my parents' rules and a big part of me was okay with it. It was easy just sitting back and getting everything I needed to be handed to me. I wasn't lazy I liked doing things but the protection my parents gave me made everything so easy. I never had to worry about anything they gave me everything I wanted at no charge, unlike living on my own and in college, sometimes a meal wasn't something I got every day. It was hard, but I knew at the end of the day I was the one who decided to leave and live far away from my parents. I didn't want them to help me, I wanted to learn on my own even if it meant a few late night thinking nights and hungry days. It was going to make me stronger

At the end of the second semester, I actually found it hard to leave my new home in Nacogdoches. I had finally gotten used to the idea of living out in East Texas with no one near me. I had started to make my life out in the Pineywoods. I was okay with everything I had. I learned some valuable about myself and what I really. It may have been hard at first but it was worth it for what I had going for myself. Even being back home has given more liberties, my family has seen how much I've grown in the past year, as a person, and gives them a sense of peace with me being 5 hours away. I don't regret my choice of moving away. It's made me a stronger person and while being far from my family might have hurt when it came to the hard times, like losing my great grandma, but they were always one phone call away, and in the end, it was worth it.