It was just at 16-years-old when I got home from a long day at school and my parents had let me know that they would need to move back to Brazil for my dad’s job. As someone who always went to school in English-speaking countries my entire life, it would have been a pretty difficult transition for me to finish my last two years of high school in a completely different language.
At the end of the summer, I was off to becoming the person I am today. I packed up all my things and arrived in Toronto, where I was going to be living with my 25-year-old sister for the next couple of years. I started a new high school, made new friends, and had a really good time adapting to this new lifestyle I was living.
Everything was very different compared to what I was used to. I no longer had my parents annoy me about doing homework or making my bed every morning. I had no one to cook me meals when I was grumpy and hungry after coming home from school, and would often find myself growing a little more independent each and every day.
Two years later I decided I wanted to come to Western for university, since I was so used to moving around throughout my childhood. As my friends were leaving their parents and had a somewhat difficult time adapting, I simply grabbed my things, said my goodbyes to my sister, and set off on yet another new adventure.
Moving out at sixteen truly had an impact on who I am today. I often find myself cleaning up after myself constantly, prioritizing certain tasks, and holding responsibilities that I had learned in my final years of high school. I came to realize this when I saw my friends and roommates calling their parents every once in awhile to ask them how to do a simple task, or asking me to help them out in certain situations.
It is now that I realize the mature and responsible woman that I have grown to become. Although I am yet another university student who enjoys going out and is pretty lazy most of the time, moving away from my parents at a young age gave me a head start and taught me life lessons and the ability to figure out things on my own at an ideal time in my life.
So in the end, thank you to my parents. You guys are my rock.
XO,
Your responsible daughter