This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at C Mich chapter.
Her Campus’ main audience are the twenty-something-year-old girls of the world who have gone off to college, have most likely moved out of their bedroom filled with high school memories, into a cell block dorm room, and experienced life out of the house. This is an experience that is no longer rare for young women in this century (fortunately).
What I am saying is us girls should take one more step forward; you have come this far, so keep on truckin’ girlfriend. As I said in my last article, take a look around, the world is at your finger tips and you can be anyone you want to be, wherever you want to be!
Here’s why you should ‘hit the road jack’:
- You will grow – So, you made the best girl friends ever, found your true love, were homecoming queen or just all round had a fabulous time in high school or college (and if you didn’t I’m not entirely sure why you’re still here, get on that plane girl and find your true happiness because you deserve it). You have accomplished a lot in your 20 something years. Congratulations, we are all very proud of you, but you have done all that you can do in your hometown and you’ve accomplished everything you had planned to in college. So don’t stop there, keep going. Keep achieving. Sure, moving away from what is comfortable, where you were successful, and where your life is, could be and will be very scary, but you are just selling yourself short. You have nothing left to achieve where you are so move on and continue to grow and to blow the world away somewhere else because I know you are capable of it.
- Let go of the past and embrace the future – Throughout high school, we are mashed-up version of our parents, our sports teams, our best friends, the boy in our life at that time and a teeny tiny version of the person we would like to be one day. During college, we spread our wings a tad bit more and begin to figure out the sort of life we would like to lead. We of course get caught up in school and deciding which career path to take, our social scene and where we fit in, and quite often we are completely one sort of person one day and the next day we are someone else and that is perfectly okay because college is the time to try out new things and discover who you want to be. Finally, post graduation is our opportunity to embrace the person we have become throughout these 23 to 27 years of our lives. If you stay in the place where you were mashed up versions of others, or in a place where you spent 4-6 years finding and experiencing who you wanted to become, it would be too easy to fall back into those routines and getting caught up in the person you used to be (and no longer want to be). Memories are a beautiful thing and have shaped every part of our being but you should always continue to move forward and embrace your future. Remember you can always come back, if home is where you belong. With that being said however, there is no better way to learn about the person you have become than in a completely new environment where that confident happy woman can shine.
- You can learn about yourself – Now that you have a pretty clear understanding of who you are, take some time to learn about that wonderful woman. Being in a new environment, with new people, new jobs, and a new home, you have to make it in the real world being the woman that you have built over the years-its time to put her to the test. Being on your own in a place where no one knows anything about you except for the person that you have become will challenge you to get to know yourself. You will learn to have your own standards, beliefs, and views on life now that you are without your best friend by your side, or without your mother a car ride away. You can finally be your very own woman, without the influence of those who know you best, here is your chance to get to know yourself the best.
- You will be brave – Slowly throughout life we are taking baby steps. We are born, loved and taken care of until we are go off to kindergarten and must be brave to accomplish this. Later we transition to high school, here we learn about being teenagers, boys, exams, first loves and first heartbreaks, losing friends and making our first big mistakes. In order to be get through this stage, we had to be brave. Then we go to college, move away from home and learn to be adults. We are on our own and the classes get harder and the decisions get bigger and in order to succeed we had to be brave. After we graduate, do not let this bravery streak end. Do not move right back home and get comfortable in your old bedroom – get the hell out of here. To do this you will have to be braver than you ever have before. Eventually, nothing will scare you anymore. If you can move far away, on your own to a new place, and start fresh you will be able to handle nearly anything that comes your way.
- You will be able to say “I did it”- I just read a tweet that says, “go to school for 16 or more years, work, and then you die – cooool.” Life does not have to be that way, nor should it ever be that way. Life is a gift that we have all been granted and if we are lucky enough we should sieze the opportunities that it hands us. Move away! Sure you may have very little money, a crappy apartment and not very many friends, but I can promise you if you go to the place you have always dreamed and give it an honest effort, you will find a job – maybe even your dream job! You will eventually be able to afford a nicer home, and along the way you make friends. Who knows, you may even find the love of your life! You have lived all of the life that you can right here, so far at least, so give another city a chance to have someone as fabulous as you, because you may love it as much as it will love you and no matter what happens you will be able to say “I did it”.
See you on the road, girls. Happy travels!