It is that time of the year again; school will be starting up in just a few short weeks, and before you know it, many students will move back on campus, or in their apartment in Chicago. At DePaul, most students move on campus their first year, and in their sophomore or junior year, students live off campus. In my college experience, I lived in Monroe my freshman year. Instead of moving back home for that summer, I stayed in Monroe as an orientation leader (shootout Monroe Hall). I moved off campus in August in the Lakeview neighborhood of that summer with a roommate, I spent my sophomore year, and the summer since I had an internship. Since I have applied and was chosen to be a facilities assistant for DePaul I will be moving back on campus. I am getting free housing for my junior year, and I will be sharing with you what living off campus has taught me.

To start off, living off campus has taught me how to cook for myself. While living on campus, I had a meal plan and I hardly cooked for myself. Once I moved off-campus, I started to learn how to cook a bit more. I went grocery shopping and I cooked many dishes: pasta, chicken, pizza and soups to name a few. I also packed lunches and I would usually eat salads and sandwiches, and I would bring snacks such as chips, fruit, and cookies. Living off campus has taught me how to cook more and has also made me spend less money going out to eat, which is why I am glad I spent one academic year off campus.

Furthermore, another thing I have learned when I lived off campus is how to budget. My parents and I agreed that I would be in charge of paying for the electricity bill, wifi bill, and groceries. My parents helped me out with paying for my rent. Since I lived with a roommate, we both split the wifi and electricity bill. Never in my life, I had to pay for wifi and electricity. While living on campus, the electricity and wifi bill was part of the housing bill, which my parents paid for. It was a change when I was in charge of paying for something that I never had to pay for. It made me feel more like an adult when I had to start budgeting my money and setting some aside for utilities. Now, I am more aware of how to budget since I had real life practice when I lived in my apartment.

These are just a few of the many things I have learned while living off campus. Through budgeting and cooking for myself I grew and became a bit more independent. I am glad that I decided to spend at least one academic year living away from the dorms, since I have learned how to provide for myself a bit more. When entering college, I thought I would become more intelligent just in academics, but my sophomore year living off campus, I became more intelligent in the adult world. Thus, I am glad that I made the move off campus, and I can't wait to live back on campus as a facilities assistant.