Moving 1,500 miles away from home
In the Summer of 2017 , after graduating with my High School diploma, I was faced with the disappointing realization that I could not leave the small town I grew up in for the upcoming school year . My level of responsibility and motivation were at an all-time low in high school therefore , my grades reflected these feelings . I could not and would not pay the absurd price of tuition at an University. Community college was the only reasonable option to obtain my education directly after High School and I was not opposed. However, a few months into attending community college I was taunted by the idea of wasting time being confined to the small town I grew up in . Within a few weeks of this taunting notion I established a feasible resolution to escape the small town and experience life away from home. After discussing my resolution with my parents, they encouraged my interest to advance outside my comfort zone and attend an University 1,5000 miles away from home.
To most, the thought of moving 1,500 miles away to foreign territory sounds frightening opposed to exciting. As an individual that embraces change more than consistency this sounded like an ideal choice. Moving meant not knowing anyone, besides the family that lived within the City I was moving to, and that meant a fresh start. But, as lovely as my intentions sounded ... sometimes expectations and reality do not match up . Within a few weeks of moving away I felt like I made a grave mistake. The cons of moving outweighted the pros and I felt stuck. I scrambled to find a solution that were realistic enough for the upcoming semester. Reality crushed my heart when I came to the realization that no option would be feasible . This resulting in an immense amount of daily tears. But, the story does not end here ... definitely not with a sad ending.
As time went on the tears slowly stopped. Waking up with heaviness in my heart stopped. Eventually the features of the new city no longer seemed as unpleasant as I once viewed them to be. In addition, my main struggles of making friends and finding a job , were resolved . These struggles were not up to my standards but the little progress gave encouragement. I learned an abundant lessons about myself , my friends / family , and life out of one semester 1,500 miles away from home . I matured more in six months than I did in 19 years of living at home . Therefore, I would like to share a little insight into what I learned from moving 1,500 miles away from home.
1. ITS OKAY TO MAKE MISTAKES - Toddler rachal to present day rachal has always feared making a mistake . Growing up , my parents never discouraged my siblings and I from failing . In fact , my mother encouraged us to try plenty of activities even if it resulted in small failures because it was better to try and fail than never try at all . Therefore , my fear of failing was my own doubts . However , when I came to the realization that moving was a mistake there was no option but to confront my fear of failure . At this point , I had no choice but to communicate my situation of dissatisfaction with my parents . After an emotional talk with my parents I understood mistakes DO NOT equal failure . There is no such thing as failure if you do not give up . When i became more comfortable with the fact that i had made a mistake , i began feeling comfort in sharing how i felt about the situation. To my surprise , an immense amount of individuals I spoke to were in my predicament , regarding feeling trapped due to a mistake they had made . However , no matter what mistake one of these individuals made they continued on with life . Some of these individuals prospered tremendously from their experience . As a result , I can find comfort in making mistakes that are big or small and, not being too critical on myself when i make one .
2. DO THE THINGS YOU / NO ONE BELIEVES YOU CAN DO - Within my family I was the youngest child for quite awhile . I was constantly surrounded by older people due my older siblings and cousins . This meaning , my experience with younger children was practically nonexistent. This resulting in my dislike in children younger than I , especially babies . When I moved I was faced with the harsh reality of the difficulty in finding a job in a big city . In the process of filling out approximately twenty applications a day , a friend mentioned a job opening at a local Preschool . The idea of not being able to afford basic necessities exceeded my aversion of children . Soon I was hired as a teachers aide at the Preschool . In the utmost excitement i did not hesitate to flaunt my achievement of finally landing a job. My excitement soon faded when I recieved remarks such as , “ You won’t last , you do not like children. “ , “ I can not see you doing that job.” , and “ haha .. good luck with that.” Since I had no other options I continued to pursue the job. I began to learn more about children , child care , and the impact adults have on children . The skills I have learned such as , diapering children and communitcating with them, surpass the criticism i received for taking the job . Sometimes taking a leap of faith into the unknown , even without support , may turn out better than expected . There are not rules saying you cannot pursue activities or interest that do not “sound like you” because if it is something you want to purse then it does “ sound like you” .
3.YOURE NOT MISSING OUT BY MOVING - Coming from a small town , there is not much that goes on in true sense . As soon as i moved i had an immense amount of home sickness which is understandable because 1500 miles is lengthy distance away from home . However, while expressing my home sick feelings i began to notice I was missing aspects of my home town i would claim i hated . I began to feel envious of friends still living at home and traveling to the same towns i explored numerous times . Whenever someone voiced their envy of the actives i was able to do in my new city , i felt angry . I would let them experience these new outings in exchange to experience the same activities i had done a million times . BUT , winter break came along .. and i was stuck doing those same activities for a little over a month . I craved better weather and fulfilling adventures . These feelings of boredom and monotony soon led to the conclusion that i was not missing out on anything . From week one to week six of being home not a single thing had changed . Even looking back further to August , when i moved , to January the only difference in my small town was two new buildings . The nineteen years of living in the small town was enough to experience what the town had to offer and it is time to move on. There is nothing to experience somewhere that is not changing .
All in all , i have been through a roller coaster of emotions by moving 1500 miles away from home . I have accomplished and experienced an abundant amount of new achievements . These are only few of the lesson but the most valuable ones I have learned thus far from moving 1500 miles away from home .
Comments