A year ago, I made the biggest decision of my life to attend a university states away from everything I knew. It was the best decision I ever made. Leaving home is an important part of early adulthood but leaving your home state in your early adult life is very important and can create eye-opening experiences that you never thought possible. Leaving home can open your eyes to things you never knew existed or allow you to understand things in different ways. I want to tell you that leaving home is very important but I believe leaving your state is more important.

There is nothing wrong with loving where you're from but leaving your home allows you to become more aware of the world we live in. It can allow you to make realizations and create thoughts on things without your parents or anyone else judgment impairing yours. Our world is so much bigger than the small town or state that you currently reside in and leaving can show you more and open you up to love more of the world and the people in it.

When I left home last year and began to live my life on my own, it was possibly the best struggle I had ever gone through.

I battled with how to manage my money, which I still struggle with, and figuring out how to make new friends in an unfamiliar place. I was able to make my own judgments on people without anyone else making them for me and make my own opinions without my parents impairing my own judgment.

I believe if I had stayed in my home state of Georgia I would not have made as strong as friendships as I have made in Missouri and would not have been able to gain the independence I craved when I lived at home. Independence from my parents was key for me to be able to learn things and gain a true understanding of the world on my own. I needed to learn things on my own, make my own mistakes and fix them myself in order to truly learn how to live life. Asking for help every once in a while is a part of life and young adulthood but making your own money and learning how to budget was something I learned in the process.

Yes, you're going to fail, trust me I have and have plenty more failing to come. One way at looking at your past and future failures are to know that once you learn to pick yourself up you understand how to fix your problems yourself.

Leaving home never felt more right, especially when I left my own state. Something about traveling states away allowed me a new viewpoint on how the world works and not just the way you always thought at home. Leaving your state gives new light to people and how others live that may be completely different than your own. It allows you to decrease your ignorance and live life more.