At age 6 you wanted to grow up and be a veterinarian because you loved animals. At age 12 you were planning your dream wedding fantasizing about marrying Harry Styles or Zac Efron. At age 15 you wanted to go to college already and be on your own because living with your parents was driving you crazy. You're 18 and you left for college in a state hours away from home. And you just want to be home because this whole being on your own thing is hard. You thought you were so ready to leave until having your parents in the palm of your hand isn't an option anymore. Everything is on you now. And it's WEIRD.

As humans, we dream about the future and fantasize about what it could be. Growing up, we think living with our parents is the worst thing ever but once you're on your own it is a whole new world.

Change is hard. I get it.

You go to college and make sure you are eating three meals a day, whether it be making your own food or going to get food somewhere. Except money is tight and you have to make sure you don't blow through it all in a number of days, but you learn to make it last. You have to plan your schedule and keep track of when everything is. You do your own laundry and put your clothes away when its finished. You clean your sink, tidy up your room, and make your bed. Momma isn't here to do any of this for you anymore. It doesn't really feel abnormal until you take yourself to a doctors appointment for the first time and you have to sign yourself in and answer all the medical questions by yourself. Growing up we become dependent on our parents and once we are off to college and on our own, independence strikes and it hits us HARD.

Don't get me wrong, going to a school hundreds of miles away from home was the best decision I could have made for myself.

Leaving the nest your parents had made for you is bound to happen at some point in your life. You just have to decide for yourself when that time will be. You learn to grow up and take responsibility for all of your actions. Your life skills enhance more and more each day and you are constantly learning something new. Time management becomes your best friend. For once, you start planning out your weeks and keep track of everything you have going on. This doesn't just prepare you for the real world, it strengthens you as a person too. You branch out to meet new people and try new things in hopes of making lifelong friends along the way. You find yourself through the people you surround yourself with and the independence that being on your own gives you.

I still miss home sometimes but I don't want to leave where I'm at.

I miss my family and my dogs everyday, but I know its only a few weeks or however long it might be until I see them again. Thanks to cellphones, I can call them whenever I need or want to. Even though I love being home, I love my school and the life I have here and wouldn't change it for the world. The transition is tough, but you find your swing of things and feel your life balancing out. You start to thrive and become an expert at this whole independence thing.

You don't have to rush through life. Take it as it comes and appreciate the life you live because you only get one opportunity to live your lifetime and you have to make the most of it. Cherish it while you're still alive and worry about the future when it becomes the present. You have so much left in life to experience. Buckle up, the ride starts now!