What moving away from home really taught me…
By Connor Heads
Moving away from home can be a rather scary concept and one that many people may even fear. However, for me at least (though im sure many other people too) leaving home gave me the freedom that I had so long been yearning for and here’s how.
Flying the nest, as i’ve heard it called many a time, can grant freedom in so many ways. I have lived in Newcastle since birth, which now seems many years ago despite the fact I have only just turned 18. I can barely keep up with the time these days… I had known for a long time that moving out of the family home was the right decision for me, and so, as soon as the opportunity arose I was ready to grasp it with both hands.
So, the time came and the opportunity did arise. After months of extensive planning I was ready to pack my bags and move more than 300 miles away to the wonderful city of Bath. A decision I would never come to regret. Since arriving at my apartment I have been introduced to copious amount of people and made an unimaginable amount of true connections. At least to me these numbers were mind blowing!
You see, at home I had always struggled with meeting new people and making friends. That was no secret. But to move half way across the country was a chance at a new start. I moved to a city where nobody knew who I was and a city where I could be exactly who I wanted to be and it wouldn’t matter to anyone. It turns out i’m a natural, although my accent helped me massively. A lot of my friends had never even met a “Geordie” before they had run into me.
Since moving away from home my character has grown insanely. Before, I was extremely timid and shy. I constantly worried about what other people were thinking about me, even the ones who were simply walking past me in the street. Because of this, I didn’t get nearly the same amount of enjoyment from my life as I do now. My friends have only helped me grow. I have a lot more confidence just from the fact that I pulled this entire thing off. My clothing style has completely shifted to something way more expressive compared to how i previously dressed. I even got an ear piercing… that was a big thing for me!
Going back to the main point of this post… Get out there! and be exactly who you want to be, because let me tell you, I have only lived alone for four months now and in that rather short period of time I am already happier than I could have ever imagined. I now know that if I had of waited any longer to get away from home I would have had regrets after finding out how amazing it truly is. Nobody wants to have regrets. so take my advice and you will not!
