Living on My Own!

So this year, my summer job is about 700 miles away from my home in Texas. Which means unless I wanted to make the 12 hour drive everyday to the accounting office, I had to find a place to live for these 3 and a half months. The town is about 30 minutes away from school, but the dorms are closed for the summer. So guess what! I am now living on my own for the first time in a rental house. The cheapest and most reasonable option was to rent an Airbnb. I ended up booking two different places to get the best deal. I am currently living in a pretty nice, fully furnished house in a neighborhood about 10 minutes away from work.

Now, leaving your family and home to go live at a college dorm is extremely different than living in your own house by yourself (at least it is for me). At college, you are surrounded with your roommates and friends, are busy with classes and activities, and have meals already planned out and ready for you at the dining hall. Away from school, you have to go out and plan, buy and prepare your own meals, show up for work everyday, and contemplate what you are doing with your life as you lounge around in a house all alone when your workday is over.

Although every teenager is dreaming of the day where they “finally ditch their parents’ basement and fulfill their destiny”, there are some downsides to living on your own. First, you might get lonely. Now, I am a person who (as heartless as it sounds) does not get homesick, or terribly miss my family or hometown. About 85% of the time, I’m a huge socially-stunted introvert whose idea of a perfect Friday night would be to snuggle up in my fluffy blanket and build a puzzle listening to the “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron” soundtrack all by myself with double-fudge brownies in the oven. But during the other 15% of the time, I would love to just be around my friends and family. When you live with other people, there is always something going on and someone to be with. During school, I didn’t have time to think about how much I missed my family back home since I was always kept busy with schoolwork and messing around with my awesome friends. Now that most of my friends are back at their homes or working far away this summer, there is a lot more hours spent alone, leaving my life just a bit empty.

The other downside is THE NEVERENDING CYCLE OF DISHES. SERIOUSLY. I ONLY HAVE LIKE ONE PLATE AND A FORK BUT IT FEELS LIKE IM WASHING THEM ALL. THE. TIME. I will never again underestimate the blessing that Tucker bestows upon us.

Of course, the positive greatly outweighs the negative.

The biggest benefit to living alone is that YOU ARE LIVING ALL BY YOURSELF! This means you can do whatever you want! I am an independent adult woman! I have a job, I have a house (not technically mine but whatever), I cook the meals and decide what I want to do. I could keep my socks on the counter and blast the radio at 2am. (Don’t worry Lacey, my socks are kept safely in my dresser). My inner introvert sings with joy when I walk through the front door after work, quickly change into my pajamas, and am sheltered from the outside world.

Another benefit is the food. Now, if you are like me, you are limited in both your budget and your cooking skills. But that’s ok! You have the freedom to make whatever meal you want. Or you can just order pizza. It’s up to you. Just don’t forget to wash the dishes afterwards!

When you move to a new and completely unfamiliar place, especially with a schedule that allows for a lot of leisurely time, you are able to pursue new interests. Since I am living alone, I don’t have to worry about other people’s schedules, events or responsibilities that take up my time. If I want to go to the park, I can just drive off and go. So far this summer, I have tried to pursue activities that I enjoy and are well worth my time. I have joined a gym and am learning how to play the ukulele. Living alone is the perfect opportunity to learn a musical instrument because you won’t annoy anyone but yourself! Except maybe drums, your neighbors might object.

Living alone also forces you to put yourself out into the world. Well, you could just choose to stay inside and not go anywhere or do anything. But honestly, that leads to a sad, boring, and miserable life. If you want to have fun, learn a thing or two and get to know old and new friends, you have to be proactive. Opportunities do not just come to you, you have to go out and get them. Luckily, there are still a few friends in the area, including Aly and Nina. Aly actually has a job 5 minutes away from mine, so we could always see each other. So far, I have met up with them for lunch, and occasionally go ride horses with another friend throughout the week at school. So I am not completely alone. I have people who I love close by and my family is only a phone call or a text away.

The main thing about living by myself is that I have been able to focus on Jennah. I am able to see what happens when I am left to my own devices and make my own choices. Will I grow fat on take-out food and watching Netflix? Will I hide away and read books all the time? Or will I go out and live a healthy, active, and social lifestyle? The habits I form now will probably stick with me for a long time, so now is the chance to do things right!

Wish me luck as the summer goes by,

~Jennah