If you’re like me, fingers crossed you’re not, you’ve never lived on your own. In college, I lived in the dorms one year and in my sorority the rest of my time in school. My first year out of college half of it I lived with the 'rents and the other half I was in a house that was part of a job's program.

Once that was done I went back in with my family. A month ago I realized that I’ve never been on my own. I relied on other people for my living situation and as a 24-year-old, I couldn’t do that anymore. So, I began the process of finding my own place. These are some of the lessons I learned from this experience.

1. Be thorough with your search.

When I first started looking I honed into one place. I was so sure that was the right place for me and I was slow to listen to advice. Eventually, my parents talked me into waiting and looking a bit more. When I listened I ended up finding the place I’m in now. There’s more space and ultimately it was a better deal than where I first looked. Once you slow down and weigh your options it is much better for you in the long run.

2. Facebook Marketplace is your new friend.

Ya girl found a lovely couch on there for free!! If you do not have something, chances are there is someone who wants to give it to you. Take advantage of that, because cutting costs where you can is something future you will thank present you for. Plus, there is some good shit on there.

3. Accept all the help you can get and be thankful for the people who do help you.

I am lucky enough to have a family that was more than willing to help me move in. They spent several hours to help me feel loved by cleaning and moving my things into my new apartment. With that, I had a couple of friends that came over to help bring in things.

I was so thankful for that help because moving is a lot of hard work. Now I have a new perspective on it and hope to pass that perspective along to someone else.

4. Moving takes a whole day and unpacking can sometimes take a week.

Ya, I was silly and thought I could move in in two hours. Nope. We started at 2 and didn’t finish until 10:30. Once we were finished I was so tired that I didn’t fully unpack everything. There’s still crap all around my place because I simply have very little time to finish fully moving in. Which leads me to my next point.

5. Don’t apologize if things are a mess.

Moving is a long process and people should understand that not everything is going to look like a Pinterest board the day after you move in. So, take your time and realize that it is ok if you still have things laying around your place.

6. WiFi doesn’t come with the place most of the time.

Ya soooo….. That’s another thing that I was silly about. I was late on a few things because I assumed that I would have the whole WiFi sitch under control. LOL nope. Research WiFi beforehand and find something that works for you.

7. Animals make your place 100 times better.

A couple of days after I moved in I adopted my sweet fur baby. His name is Kauffman and he makes my life bright. He keeps me company in my apartment and he offers me something to focus on other than myself. He is young and rascally, but he fills up the empty spaces in my place.

8. Sometimes things are broken and it takes a while to get it fixed.

When I first moved in there were several things that were not working. I had to learn to be patient with maintenance and realize that they were busy just like I was. With that being said, you must advocate for yourself and don’t feel bad if you are nagging on something that is important that needs to be fixed.

9. It is really nice to have your own space, but it can be a rude awakening.

When you move you realize just how much different things cost: rent, gas, electric, water, WiFi, food, Hulu, just to name a few, but with that there are so many positives. Chief being that you can begin to grow into someone to advocates and takes responsibility. While there are several concerns that come along with living on your own, the good outweighs the fear. Do not hold back and go for working towards independence.