Make the move.

Everyone in their life should move at least once. Whether you’re moving out of your hometown for college, a job, or just for a change I think it’s an essential part of everyone’s life.

I’ve lived in Kansas City all my life and I always wondered what it would be like to live somewhere else. That’s part of the reason why I chose to go to college in Chicago. Over the three months that I’ve lived in the city, I’ve been able to see many different changes in my own life.

Moving away will help you become truly independent.

You never know true independence until you’re walking around your new home, discovering new things about the city, getting lost, finding your way back, and truly finding your place in this new chapter of your life. You’ll start to do more things alone and find yourself enjoying it. Of course, you’ll probably become homesick at one point. That’s part of the whole process. You’ll start to miss people and things back home, but you’ll learn how to become self-reliant and how to make things happen for yourself.

Being in this new place will also give you the opportunity to reinvent yourself. It’s the perfect chance to start fresh. Nobody knows you and you have the chance to basically build up a new identity. You have a blank canvas and you get to choose what goes on it. The biggest thing for me was not feeling like I was forced to talk with people who I had slowly drifted away from.

I was able to easily make connections with new people who made it easy to place my roots in my new home.

Another thing for me is always trying to and being able to step outside of my comfort zone; from meeting new people, going to new places, or even just trying out new forms of transportation around the city. Moving away is probably the most direct way to be pushed outside of your own little box. You’ll be able to learn new things about yourself and do things that you never thought you’d be able to.

You can truly expand your horizons by just moving away from where you’ve lived for most of your entire life. You will be exposed to many new changes and experiences all at once. It has, and hopefully will continue to be one of the best and most rewarding experiences.