Moving out for University can be quite a difficult thing for a lot of people, never mind for someone who doesn't drink and likes to keep to themselves. I was the first one in my family to move out even though I'm the youngest. I'd suggested to my parents that I would like to move out for University and they weren't too keen on the idea which was understandable. For me it was just a big deal, going to a place where I barely anyone, to study something I wasn't too sure on, in an environment I was completely unfamiliar with. I knew that moving out wasn't going to be easy but it was the right move for me. Something that I learned during my A-levels was that it would be next to impossible for me to truly live on my own terms while at home. There were too many distractions and there were too many excuses for me to not do any work. I also couldn't wake up when I wanted and go to bed when I wanted as there was always that came up which stopped me from doing so. Moving out would give me the freedom that I wanted but it wasn't going to be easy.
Firstly I had to accept that I wasn't going to see my family as much. I spent my entire life living with these people and now I was moving away to live by myself and knowing that this was a choice I was making was difficult but I knew it was what was right for me so never doubted if I should go. The longest I'd been without seeing my family was on Duke of Edinburgh or National Citizen Service. Secondly, I was picking up responsibilities that I never had. Things like cooking fresh healthy food, cleaning up, try to make new friends and take part in societies all while doing one of the most intense courses. It's easy at home when people can help you out if you're not feeling too well but now everything I wanted was up to me. I'd have to do all the things I wanted and I couldn't just take a break from it when I felt like it. Now it's important that you know these aren't things I thought about negatively, in fact it was the opposite. All the different challenges that I would face alone were things that motivated me more to move out, because I knew that this was going to make a stronger more independent person after it.
I also knew that at Loughborough University I was going to get opportunities that I would never have got staying at home. Loughborough was given the status "University of the Year"-The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019 and was a great university for what I want to do. Now, I don't want it sound like moving away from home was extremely difficult, it wasn't. Yes, it was hard, but definitely manageable. The main thing for me was voluntarily sacrificing many comforts so I could become a happier, stronger individual and I encourage you to do the same and approaching it in this way made the transition a lot easier.