I chose to move away from home because I’d always wanted to. I knew from a young age that I didn’t want to live in my hometown forever. In fact, I knew I didn’t want to live in it for long.

I chose to leave, and even more to go to another country. It was between Walla Walla University or Trinity Western University, and I chose WWU. In a weird way, I was content with my decision.

No matter what choice I made, I would move out of the house.

It’s not like I don’t love my parents or something- that’s not the case at all. I do! I’ve had a good home life, I have people I love, friends, memories forever engraved in my mind. But, I decided this was the time for new experiences, away from home.

This is the time to do something new. It’s the time for student loans and forming your future built on independence. It’s the time to branch out from the comforts of your hometown, the time to introduce yourself to the cute person in your history class, it's the time to travel, to discover who you are and what you want.

You can do these kinds of things at home. You really can. But, for me, I needed to leave. I needed to make sure that I got out of the tiny world I was living in, and did something that would help me to mature. By leaving, I quickly learned how to be independent: how to make healthy decisions, how to call people without being wracked with anxiety (although, I still kind of hate ordering pizza over the phone), I learned how to use my time wisely, how to live with people I didn’t really know, how to introduce myself to lots of new people, to share my ideas, to get out of my social comfort zone.

I don’t miss my hometown; I miss the people in it. I don’t miss the lifestyle; I miss not having to wear flip-flops in the shower. I don’t miss the social game; I miss seeing people I knew around town whenever I went out.

In time, though, all of these minor things will be rectified. I’ll be able to visit people I want to see. I’ll be able to eventually have my own apartment (in, you know, like three or four years) and be comfortable with it. I’ll meet even more people.

This is the time to do something with your life. It’s the last time where freedom is completely free. Most of us don’t have full-time jobs right now, we don’t have families to support, we can have classes that don’t start until after ten in the morning, we can spend our time watching TV with our best friends until four a.m., we can get bangs through a spur of the moment decision, we can go out for coffee at ridiculous hours of the night. We can do whatever we want. We can travel. We can work. We can go to school more than full time. We can do it all.

I’m glad I moved away from home. I’ve broadened my world, I’ve opened myself up, I’ve grown up, I’ve made friends, and I’m happier than I’ve been in years. Yes, I miss my family. But I don’t think that I will live full-time in my hometown again. Because by moving away from home, I’ve learned what I can do. There’s endless potential. And I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

So, move away from home. Do something new and do something you want. Now is the time. This age, eighteen to twenty-three or twenty-four, is the time. Move away from home. Discover yourself. Because now is the best time to experience newness.

And these experiences will last a lifetime.