Challenges Millennials Face Leaving Home for the First Time
Leaving home can be a daunting time, and millennials face the same challenges that many generations before them have dealt with. Whether you are going away to school, joining the military or just moving into your first apartment in Athens, Georgia after getting a job, here are some things to consider:
Your Immediate Backup is Gone
Adult children sometimes mention that they get the best sleep after they have returned to their parents’ home for a visit. A simple reason for this is that when you return to the comforts of home, those comforts are significant. There’s food in the fridge, working laundry facilities, usually a few cars to choose from, solid Internet connections, and two other humans that really care about you, will listen to your problems and help you with your needs.
When you move, this entire support system—while still available remotely—is basically difficult to access immediately, and you may feel lost. If there’s no food, you need to go get it. If something breaks, you need to fix it, and if your clothes are dirty, you need to wash them. It all depends upon you, and that may be hard to adjust to.
No One Is Telling You What to Do
When you are at home it may be really annoying that your Mom is constantly after you to clean up your room and fold your clothes. When you move out, however, that annoyance may be gone, but you begin to realize that without it, you just sit on the couch and do nothing. What bothered you previously now is strangely missed, because there is now no one to motivate you but yourself.
Who Will Take Me to the Doctor?
If you got sick at home, your parents would drop everything, make a health-care appointment for you, and find a way for you to get to it. All you had to say was “I don’t feel good,” and your parents would go into immediate action. Now if you are ill, you have to find a doctor or clinic, make the appointment, figure out how to get there, and then go to the pharmacy to get your prescription filled—while you are still sick! It was a lot easier when Mom and Dad were there to help.
Advice
When you were living at home and had a pressing issue or problem, your parents were there to offer advice and support. Sure, you can call, text, email or Skype—if you are far away—but there is nothing like immediate and comforting support. After you move out, you might miss the security of someone always available to help you.
Moving away from home is a serious step, and all the preparation in the world will not truly prepare for the experience. The Me Me Me Generation may have a more difficult time than others have had due to their purported narcissism, but be assured that after a while, you will become less dependent.