When we are little we never think about leaving home. Then when we are in our rebel teen years it's something we say we can't wait to do. Then we are adults and it's finally time to move out and you have no idea how you are going to do it, let alone if you can do it. I've been living away from my parents for just about a year now and though it was the hardest thing I've ever done, it was the best thing I could have ever done.

Growing up there were lots of people who never thought I would go anywhere, that I would be with my mom or dad for as long as I could. Now I love my parents very much, but moving away let me grow into even more of my own person and start a life with my boyfriend. Living with my parents for as long as I did taught me a lot of things I still do today, like cooking and doing my own wash and how hard work at a job leads to places. Moving away showed me why little things I always wondered why my parents did were done. I learned real fast why my mom was always cutting out coupons for food shopping; it turns out that that one dollar or 50 cents off can really add up and go a long way when you are shopping for food for more than just one meal. I also learned that money really doesn't "grow on trees" and can be hard to manage when you have to live on a budget and picking between things you want and need.

I also miss coming home from work and just being able to relax because mom would make dinner or mom didn't want to cook so we would go out or she would order food so no one would have to go anywhere or do anything. I miss having my brother right down the hall from me so if something is wrong with my car he could look at it. I had to learn how to do (more) things with my car on my own. Don't get me wrong, I call my mom now more than I ever have in my life. There are still lots of things I need from her, like sometimes I need info to fill out forms and I'm not sure what it is really asking so she might have to walk me through it. I still find myself calling my dad if something is wrong with my car. I call my mom if I need a little gas money once all my bills are paid and she will still help me out.

Though I miss living with my parents, moving out was the best thing for me; like I said, I got to start my own life with my boyfriend, I work two jobs, pay my own bills, and keep food on the table and gas in my car. I go to school full time as well to make this life I'm building even better for me and whatever the future may hold for me. I also get to stick my middle finger up at everyone who ever told me I wouldn't be able to do anything by myself with my life. I'm now 25 years old and still growing. As I do, I see more of my parents in me every day and I hope as I grow I take more and more of the skills I picked up from them along with me to make my life easy as it goes on. So, though it may have been the hardest thing I ever did, leaving home to be on my own was the best thing for me to really show who I can be and what I can do.