Riding Solo
Currently, it will be my seventh (7th) year of living away from home since I went to college. It truly has been a roller coaster ride for me since I was terrible homesick during the first few months of my first year here. What I did was surround myself with people who would remind me of home and who may feel the same way as I do. Yet, young as I was, I was vulnerable to various things. I was staying at a dormitory near school where I met most of my college friends.
The dorm was called Residencia de Santo Pio where I stayed for two (2) years before moving in with my cousins. There, I met different people from different places (in the country and in the world). It was quite different from living in the province. Real talk. Some were older so they’d enlighten us about how it is in college. Life in the dorm was awesome even though there were rules!
Living Solo
Currently, I have rented a place solely for myself. And it actually feels great!I’ve learned so many things while I was still living in the dorm. I learned some household chores like washing some of my clothes / dishes, cleaning my room and organizing my stuff (since I had a lot back then). I carried those learnings up until I was living with my relatives in the apartment adjacent to the dorm. I lived there for around four years before moving out to have my own place.
[bctt tweet=”Living alone is different from living independently.” username=”Mariaisquixotic”]
They may seem synonymous with one another yet different in context depending on what’s your perspective.
For the number of days of being alone and depending only on myself, I’ve gained so much and learned many things:
- Washing dishes is fun as well even though it stings sometimes. So I use Joy dishwashing liquid with Olay, and it does not sting anymore plus my hands smell and feel so good.
- Cooking yourself is definitely an eye-opener and will serve as a door to another hobby. (Sometimes, I get scared if there are talsik of oil used in frying that will land on my parts of my body especially I use an induction stove which is way complicated than the gas stove.)
- Cleaning the place serves as a way of destressing myself and a work-out as well. It helps me burn calories from the food I ate during my cheat day/s.
- Saving can be very much learned.
Yet, moving can be a very hard task as you need to organize your stuff and the ones who will help you move. I have checked gawin.ph for local movers or trucking and I booked for the Alexzander Trucking Service. During the day of the move, the truck and helpers arrived on time and really helped me move my stuff from the old place to the new one. They were really nice and the moving was smooth. The rate would depend on the distance from the pick-up point to the drop-off and the type of building of the destination.
In moving or transferring to a new place, I’ve learned:
- Conduct your research about the new place (e.g. how to commute to and fro, mobile reception, internet providers, etc)
- Hoarding stuff may just consume space that could be allotted to other things. So learn to let go of the things you have not used (for the past six months).
- Preparing your things for the move may take some time so it would be better if you would plan it ahead of time, though there might be changes due to the availability of the trucking services or the helpers.
- Boxes will be used so if you have a tiny space, better to unfold them when not in use. Remember to put labels as you put your stuff in the boxes so the helpers will know which to handle with care.
- Creating a checklist is very helpful and effective in accomplishing your errands with regards to moving and the logistics as well.
- Always keep your lines open so that if there will be unfortuituous that might occur, you will be able to update the contact persons for the services you have availed.
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Hi Kristine! I also lived independently, and I recently celebrated 4 years of financial independence, and I’m just about to pubilsh a post about it too! I moved out of my parents’ house after college and have been paying the bills. Technically I didn’t live alone though. But it’s really liberating knowing that you can do things by yourself. Especially killing the cockroaches part — it’s the hardest!
I remember those days that we do not own a house yet.. we keep on moving from one place to another almost every year … i know how hard it is when moving to a new house. I actually lost a lot of my things in the process hehe.. Creating a checklist will definitely a great help to organize everything and not to overlook some items that should be transferred to the new house
This is such a good reminder. I love being alone… sometimes too much! I really needed to hear your tips on moving to a new place. I will be doing that very soon! I love your detail writing skills as well!
xoxo, Candice
http://www.candicenikeia.com
I grew up independently since my parents broke up way back many years ago, I learned a lot of things especially surviving on your own, working hard while making myself available to study. It’s really good to be alone but eventually time will come that you will settle down and have your own family, depending on your calling, keep it up and thankyou for sharing, Godbless
I love living on my own! I’ve been living alone for the past 7-8 years and I really enjoy my piece and quiet. I don’t like washing the dishes but at the moment I don’t have space for a washing machine in my kitchen. 🙂 I can’t imagine how you like washing them, haha.
I have a post that’s a work-in-progress about living independently / alone. Come to think of it, this has been my set-up since college – had majors that finished late; my course demanded late nights because of photo shoots so having my own place was very practical. Now that I am working, even if I tried to stay in my parents’ house, I had to go solo again for convenience & practical reasons. Traffic in Metro Manila seems to be getting worse each day and it was so bad that I was always late for work. I did try to leave early and earlier but it took a toll on my health because I was tired & not getting enough sleep …. so here I am, living independently & am happy about it. So cheers!
I never needed to rent a place either for school or work in the past since our home has always been near for those reasons. I think it’s a brave and independent thing to do which surely have it’s benefits. Glad to know you’re happy~
We need more people like you. Far too often, people here live with families. It’s time to be independent, and one thing about being independent is that it takes away the habit of complacency. In its place, being responsible is developed and creativity at making it work is at it best! Good luck and well done!
I agree living alone is different from living independently. I’ve experienced living alone for two years (one year in a dorm and one year in a rented condo) but I was still dependent. For the dorm, I think it was a higher-end dorm so the cleaning was done by the in-house cleaning staff. We cannot cook there so I usually just eat out. Meanwhile, when I live in a condo, I don’t really cook and all my laundry is done at home. I still go home every weekend. On all my transfers, my parents were there to assist me. So yes, well done to you! You’re doing well in living independently.
I was independent when I was assigned in the province. 4-5 years of living independent made me realize a lot of things. It is so hard but worth it if you survived without your parents guide and money.
Ahh, I can still remember the first few weeks of me living alone and independently. You can say that my mom sheltered us, domestically, so I can a noob with everything. It was such an eye opener for me. I really didn’t have much experience in saving and budgeting so I live like a queen for the first weeks then was so poor after. Petsa de peligro is very real for me, haha!