There comes a time in most college students’ lives when they are able to finally live on their own. It’s pretty cool transitioning from triple-dorms to an actual apartment with my own space. I’m very thankful that I am finally living out this dream. However, there are a few things I quickly learned about living on my own.

1. Packing the Right Things.

When I was packing for school, I was a little too excited. I packed my nail polish, clothes, favorite shoes, and dorm essentials…but I didn’t put into account that I needed to bring kitchen supplies too. I know it was a dumb mistake, but I ended up arriving at my apartment without plates, pots, pans, and even utensils. I don’t really know what was going through my mind when I was packing.

2. Time Management.

I know time management is a huge factor for all college students, but it seems harder now that I finally have my own space. In my case, this is actually the first time that I’ll be able to have my own room entirely. So, once I’m alone, it’s pretty easy to retreat into hibernation mode. But of course, I’ll always have homework and other obligations, so that means I can’t spend all of my time sleeping or on Tumblr.

3. Cooking!

Cooking is definitely one of the most important things about living on my own — I needed to learn how to cook! Please, don’t be that person who sets the fire alarm off at 2am because you burned your Easy Mac. Luckily, I have a little cooking experience from when I was younger, so I wasn’t too worried about my skills.

4. Open Communication.

Because I am living with someone that isn’t family for the first time, it’s important to have open communication as well as clear expression of boundaries. If someone is doing something that I feel uncomfortable or annoyed with, I won't let the issue sit around — I make sure that I express what’s going on to my roommate and everything should be okay.

5. Budgeting.

Finally, I learned a lot about budgeting. Although I don’t have to pay rent yet (I’m not that old), I still need to make sure that I’m saving my money for groceries, cleaning supplies, school supplies, and other things. Nothing is more annoying than trying to go grocery shopping only to realize that you only have $7.82 to your name. Living on my own has taught me to be better with my money.

All in all, I’m glad that I’m getting a feel of the “adult” experience. I might not have to pay the bills yet, but I’m lucky that I have the opportunity to learn these lessons that come with living on myI own.