Echoing What’s Important To You

The first time I was away from my parents was when I first set foot to the big city to continue my tertiary education. It was a GIANT step for me to take and I’ve felt all kinds of emotions while I was away from home. But 6 years after that, I’m still away from my parents and I’ve learned the trade of living on my own. =)

Tip #1: When you first set foot to a foreign place, try to make as many friends as possible. But of course, don’t just care about wanting to make so many friends until you forgot to pick the right kind of friends. You wouldn’t want to find yourself becoming a junkie in the end, do you?

Tip #2: If you feel like crying out loud, just do it! Don’t feel you like you should not just because you’re afraid someone might call you a wussy or mummy’s boy/girl. If you need to go to a corner (ie. toilet) to cry, go ahead. There’s nothing wrong with shedding some tears. We are human after all.

Tip #3: Join some activities or pick a hobby. If you like to play basketball, go and find a group of people to play with. But if you’re somebody who is homely, do something like reading or playing computer games or you can follow my lead, hook on to animes and dramas.

Tip #4: Don’t just coop up in your room. You’ll go insane! Go out and explore the city during the weekend. Catch a movie, visit the museum or national library or even the zoo. If you’re not located in the city but instead at the rural areas, you can probably organise a picnic, treasure hunt or kite-flying session. Or you can even do some volunteering work. Help save the world! How does that sounds?

Tip #5: If all that did not work for you, you can get yourself a part-time job. Usually when you’re too idle, you’ll think a lot (I know I do) and you will start missing your parents and wanting to go back home so badly. So, get a job to occupy your free time but if you’re still studying, don’t skip classes. With a part-time job, you can earn extra income and fill up your time. Hence, you will think of home much lesser and time passes even faster for you. Don’t forget to treat your parents when you go back!

Most importantly, what I’ve learned throughout my whole experience is that you have got to be independent and learn to adapt to changes. Once you accept and adapt to the changes, you’ll get used to them and in no time, you’ll definitely be able to live on your own.

All you need is the big first step. =)