As I have mentioned previously, I’m a commuter student. Although there are many advantages that come with being a commuter student, it also forced me to confront my idea of what I thought my college experience would be like. One of my biggest worries I’ve constantly thought about was how I was going to be independent if I’m just living at home. Now, I realize that if you want to grow, you don’t need to leave home, you just need to be ready to step out of your comfort zone and keep going!
I know there are a lot of commuter students who are feeling the same things as me. You want to improve yourself, but life at home can be stifling. After seeing 2 of my siblings go away for university, I see how someone can grow while going away for university and staying at home. These are my top ways to grow while living at home:
Do that thing you always wanted to do
We all have that one thing that we wanted to try doing for a while. For some, it’s traveling and for others, it’s starting a small business. Whatever it is, this is your chance to go for it! Most of the time, if you’re living at home, you either pay no rent or a little bit of rent. This means fewer obligations in a financial sense, so if your dream involved money, come up with a savings goal and take a small job.
In addition, I found that I have more emotional support while living at home. This emotional support has made it easier for me to take risks. Sometimes, our family isn’t as supportive as we would like, but friends can also be that emotional support you need.
Related: 5 Things No One Tells You About Testing Your Limits
Get your financial house in order
When you’re in college, personal finance doesn’t seem to stretch further than knowing you have to pay back your student loans eventually, making sure you don’t overdraft and having enough money to do fun things with friends. Personal finance is more than that, and now is the time to show your money who’s boss! Think about all the goals you might want to accomplish in the next few years. I bet having enough money comes up a lot in almost all of your goals.
Explore different parts of your city
If you live in a semi-large city, chances are you haven’t explored all the hidden spots your city has to offer. For those who have explored their city, it’s time to venture to nearby cities. For me, my city doesn’t have much going on, but I still find spots relatively close by to explore. Even though I live super close to Las Vegas, I’m not a big fan of going to the Strip (AKA the few blocks filled with casinos and hotels that everyone thinks about when someone mentions Las Vegas). So, I have had some fun exploring smaller areas not near the Strip.
Not as trapped in the college bubble
All my siblings that went away for college have been at colleges where it’s difficult to leave the college campus. This means they mostly interacted with people whose lives revolved around campus and all their friends were close to them. Furthermore, their activities are limited to what was close to their campus. For me, I was able to get a job that I liked that was not close to campus, and I got to interact with students that had a experience with life outside of college.
How do you grow as a commuter student?
