Changes, as they say, are the only constant in life-And moving away from home to live on your own, is undoubtedly one of the biggest changes in most people’s lives. Although I technically moved out of my house almost 6 years back, when I started college and lived in a hostel, almost 7 hours away from Home-I would still visit home a lot, at least once a month if not more-and seemingly, nothing much “changed”. But after 4 years, I moved to the US in mid-2013. A whole new country. Entirely different Culture. New set of friends. New surroundings. New roommates. New rules. New social etiquettes. Crazy winters. Lots of responsibilities. Miles away from Home. ‘Independent’ living for real-Change can not get better :D.
Looking back, it is amazing how much technology helped smoothen the transition. Right from finding my new roommates through a University group on facebook, to booking an apartment online and even e-signing the lease agreement, to talking to seniors to get an idea of what apartments to choose from-things couldn’t have been easier. I was telling a friend all this, and also mentioned that I wished there was some easier service- that covers everything about Housing under one roof, and thats when he showed me Housing.com. A Super cool service indeed-and just what you need when you are new to a city/locality and looking for housing.
It’s now been almost two years here. Time flies. Living independently and managing everything-right from buying groceries to cooking to managing finances, has been an amazing experience so far. It also brought with it, a lot of ‘firsts’-first time actually cooking a decent meal,first time opening a bank account,first time doing laundry including washing bedding :P, first time driving in the US, first trip abroad alone.. and the list is endless :D. My roommates are an awesome lot-and I don’t think I could have got a different three people from my batch whom I would have been more compatible with.
The freedom that comes with living independently is also amazing- Nobody to ask you why you are sleeping late or skipping breakfast and you can get away without making your bed ;). Yet, what is most surprising and amusing,is, how we, as young adults, now try to ape our parents and other grown-ups we always admired. How we try to eat healthy and hit the gym and talk about relationships and credit-scores and insurance, And how we ourselves now become sticklers for cleanliness and hygiene and punctuality, as we begin to learn to stand up on our own feet and take responsibility for all our decisions.
Soon, graduate school will come to an end, bringing in another sea of change. Yet another new city, new friends,a new job and a different set of responsibilities. Looking forward to all the exciting things life is going to throw at me 🙂 !
To all of you out there who are dreading that new change around the corner-Embrace it! #StartANewLife. This might be the key to many many super awesome years ahead!
Reflections of my Footsteps 