Bivaro Going to school is hard enough, why make the situation more difficult? Stay at home while in school By Jenn Markham Do you really want to be worrying about what day green waste pick- up is and when you'll need to pay property taxes on top of your exams, assignments and homework? I live at home while I finish my education and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Most parents don’t charge their kids rent while they’re going to school. If parents are willing to help us out and make it easier, why wouldn’t we live at home? To afford moving out one would have to work more hours at a part time job. If you’re working that much while going to school, are you really getting as much out of it? It’s not like I’m not used to paying bills because I live at home either. I still pay for my car insurance, my phone bill, gas for my car and my visa bill that’s full of tuition, books, dinners, and other living expenses my parents don’t cover for me. I just don’t have to worry about some of the expenses like food, internet, heat, electrical and rent that would make budgeting impossible. When I’m having a particularly stressful or overwhelming week, my parents cut me some slack on chores around the house. If I was living on my own, the housework would just wait for me. So in that case, I would have the choice of either sacrificing study time, or living in a messy environment. It works the other way too. In the summer semester when I don’t take as many classes, I help out more at home. My parents understand that I’m an adult. I don’t have to tell them where I am every second of the day because I live with them. I keep my own schedule and show up for family dinners when it’s convenient for me. I do my own laundry, and set my own hours, but I still have them there to support me when I need it. I still have my own space in my bedroom, and they respect my privacy. Some of my friends who still live at home have their boyfriends or girlfriends stay over at night, but I understand that level of freedom and understanding isn’t a norm for everyone. Lately, the idea of moving out has been coming up a lot for me, but I don’t want to feel pressured to make that jump before I’m financially secure enough to make it work. So many people feel the itch to move out, and end up moving back with their parents when it doesn’t work out. Or what about those people who decide not to move back and build up debt or don’t have enough money to buy food? The reality is that the cost of living and going to school are both so high, that trying to do both at the same time is so financially difficult that something will have to give. Independence is a high you can’t buy (except, of course, with rent) Live on your own while in school By Sharon Yoshida It’s mid-term season and everyone around me is stressed, sick and over- scheduled, but I’m still smiling. Where do I get my cheer? Well, I know that no matter what happens during the college grind today, I will return to my fortress of freedom tonight. I will sleep in my (cheap, Ikea-bought) bed, my belly full of 39-cent ramen, and I will be happy. I’m a student living on my own and I wouldn’t have it any other way. While I understand that moving out isn’t always possible for everyone—rent money does not, alas, grow on trees—I’ve noticed that more and more of my peers are putting off leaving their familial abodes out of fear and apathy. Yes, it’s easier to stay in your childhood bedroom where things are comfortable and somebody 18 else does your laundry and grocery shopping. Yes, if your family doesn’t charge you much or any rent, it’s much cheaper to stay at home. Still, it would have been easier to stay in the warm nurturing cocoon of your mother’s womb too, but you came out into the world on your birth-day. Why didn’t you stay in your mama’s tummy? Because life is an experience and it was time for you to breathe for yourself. The same logic applies now. Living on your own is also a tuition-free crash-course in adulthood. While academic studies are obviously an important part of the college experience, there are a lot of life-skills to be learned as adults that are just as significant. Skills like budgeting, grocery shopping, doing taxes, paying bills, cooking and maintaining a : household are necessary for getting around successfully in the world. It might be easier to defer these tasks onto a willing family member so that you can “focus on your schoolwork,” but doing so will only delay and make your life-learning more difficult. Though some may argue that they can understand these types of tasks while staying with their parents, just as a master flight simulator player wouldn’t fly a real-life plane based on gaming-hours, it’s different when you have to do it on your own. The longer you put it off, the harder the transition will be and college is the time when our minds are already set to learning mode. Also, while I know that I harp on how living on your own is good for you as a means of becoming a proud, self-sufficient adult, more importantly —its fun. While I’m no Home Alone-era Macaulay Culkin jumping on the bed, it’s liberating to make the rules and choose to live, or not live by them. Sometimes it’s more important to me to watch a movie—or do my homework— than it is to wash the dishes right away. This is not something that would fly in my parents’ house, but this is my house. In my house, I can wear what I want, do what I want and be whom I want at all times. I might have to work when I’m not in class and I might not be able to buy some of the nicer things my stay- at-home friends have, but for me, this freedom of autonomy is priceless. So, fellow twenty-somethings, my message is this: don’t be afraid. Self-sufficiency might be a challenge but as we move into adulthood, it’s time to grow up. Don’t always wait for everything to be perfect and settled because the truth is that nothing will ever be perfect and settled. Life isn’t easy, but it’s now.