Living at Home During College

It’s your senior year of high school and you are counting away the days til you get to leave for college.  “I’m almost free!” you think to yourself.

This was me.  This was me 500% if not more.  I was ready for a new friends, new adventures, and a new start.  At first I thought I knew what I wanted.  I was going to go into video production.  I went and toured a college about three hours away from home.  It was like my future was being lit up.  Then I started thinking.  “Is this really what I want?” “Can I actually find a job when I get this degree?”  I didn’t think I would be good at it.  I already wasn’t as good as people who were in my high school production class.  Why would college be any different?

Discouraged and unsure of my future, my parents offered me a deal I couldn’t refuse.  They would pay for all my tuition, fees, and basically all living expenses if I stayed home and went to either the community college or a college I could commute to.  I was devastated.  They continued saying that as long as I did well I didn’t need to worry about getting a job and I would come out debt free.  I chose to commute to a college about an hour away.  I’m not going to lie.  It sucked! I hardly made friends because once the semester was over I didn’t really see them.  Since it was a commuter college, most people had jobs or families.  They weren’t there to meet friends and have fun, they were there for an education.  I saw my high school friends go off and join sororities and make friends.  Even Jay was going out and having fun with friends, given he came home just about every weekend to see me and his family, it still sucked.  I couldn’t have people over because it was my parents’ house and there wasn’t much room.  There are retired and having everyone at home all the time  hurt our relationships.

But here I am 5 years later…yeah 5…and I don’t regret it.  I am coming out debt free which is huge!! In a few months I will have a degree in health that opens up many options.  I still wouldn’t say this was my dream, but sometimes you have to have a plan B then pursue your plan A.

There are a few things I might have done differently.  I wish I got involved at a club or sorority at school to make friends.  I wish I got an actual job instead of babysitting for money.  (Great job, but not for being social.)

If this is your plan, I have a few tips for you.

• Create your own space.  I have a small room which is okay, but after my brother moved out I took half his room and made it into a crafting/study area.  It is so nice to have a place to go and concentrate or just get away and have alone time. I love being social but I love my alone time just as much!
• Join a group.  Join one of any kind.  The point is to get out so your not thinking about how much you’re not doing compared to others.  I have gotten so depressed looking at everyone posting pictures of them traveling or going out for drinks with friends.  Just think your time will come!  Joining a groups helps you meet people.  I did do a few community theater plays which were really fun and also kept me busy.
• Exercise.  It keeps you physically and mentally healthy!  Exercise lowers stress, releases endorphins that make you happy, helps with headaches, improves academic performance, and many more amazing things!