After living my whole life in the suburbs of Montreal with my parents, moving to the heart of the city was definitely a transition I had to adjust to. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never been the child who depends too heavily on their parents to do everything for them – but I never realized how much needs to be done when you’re taking care of everything yourself.
Exhibit A: Food
I’ve always loved cereal. I could eat cereal for any meal of the day… or so I thought.
After a nutritious diet of strictly cereal, bananas, and red bull, you learn that your body actually begins to crave lacking nutrients like protein, iron, and whatever else you can’t find in red bull. Who would have thought, right?
Exhibit A.2 Fruit Flies
Concerning the storage of food, I had never taken fruit flies into account before. I called my mom who informed me that if I put a good smelling, fruity liquid into a cup, sealed it with saran wrap, and poked holes in the top, that fruit flies would get trapped and eventually die off.
After two weeks, I found two fruit flies floating at the top of my Dollar Store bought Piña Colada mix which I had poured into a red solo cup. Although I did not find this method too effective, I haven’t seen the fruit flies around which means that one of two things could have happened:
- They eventually died and their corpses are laying somewhere in my apartment, or
- They all decided to collectively leave me alone out of the goodness of their hearts.
- But I try not to think about it…
Exhibit B: Sleeping
Okay, if there is one thing I am now so grateful for it’s that my parents have always provided me with air conditioning. I moved in to my studio apartment at the very beginning of September, which means that it still felt like summer. Even a tiny fan which sat on a chair right next to my bed during the night couldn’t keep me from feeling like I was pre-menopausal at twenty-one years old.
Maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration but it felt like I was having non-stop sweats and I absolutely could not fall asleep. I’ve always been one to love summer, but this year, I have never been happier to see fall arrive.
For those nights when I felt like I was tossing and turning and sticking my head in the freezer to stay cool, I did find a good remedy to fall asleep and that would be alcohol. I live in a prime area of downtown Montreal now and there are bars just about everywhere! Which leads me to my third example…
Exhibit C: Drinking
Too much.
I must say, I have been drinking a lot more (don’t worry mom if you’re reading this, I’m not an alcoholic). But I am thoroughly enjoying attending events and meeting new people. When I lived so far from downtown, I always felt like I was missing out on attending things that everyone else would go to.
Yet with going out all of the time comes a price.
Exhibit D: Cleaning
Too Little.
I don’t really have much else to say. I am ashamed, yes. And I will eventually pick up a broom and sweep the floors. One of these days…
With all of that being said, it may have been a change for me to move out on my own, but I am having an incredible time! I love being in the center of everything, leaving for school five minutes before class, and having my peers live so close to me. The experience is unreal and I’m really starting to feel like I’m at home.
So in the words of a great and inspiring woman, Vanessa Carlton, I am finally now, “making my way downtown, walking fast, faces pass, and I’m home bound.”
And I’ve never been happier.