Why you should live away from home as a university student?

My time at college was by far the best experience of my life. It has transformed me into a more self-reliant individual today. The five years I spent at uni will always be the most cherished years of my life. There are so many life skills I learnt while living away from my parents that helped in shaping my personality.

I left my parents’ home at the age of 18 to study law. I moved to a new city and was living in the student accommodation of the university. Like any other student, I was very excited to explore my "freedom" as an adult but little did I know that this was a chance to explore "myself". University life is a time for all students to shape their interests, their opinions, experiment with new things and make friends. Alongside these, there are some important life skills that I learnt staying away from home.

Managing expenses

Personal finance is something that people learn once they start earning but students living away from their parents, learn this skill very early on in life. Most students receive a fixed monthly amount for their expenses. In my first year at uni, I would spend the whole amount without giving any thought to the money required in case of any emergencies. Slowly and eventually, I learnt to keep a proportion of the total amount as savings and the rest was spent on my daily needs such as food, travel, stationery, toiletries and, medical expense.

One mistake that most students make is that, even though they save, they don’t grow that money by investing it. As a student, I knew very little about investing. So I would invest all my savings either as a fixed deposit or recurring deposit. This would give me an interest rate of 6-7% depending on the bank and the deposit type. But the ideal way is to invest in stock market that gives you an interest rate of 12-15%. As a student, if you learn how, where and when to invest in the right stocks, you will be able to grow your money much faster.

Exploring new places

When I moved from my hometown to a new city, I was so excited to explore new places. I travelled to many Indian cities for leisure, internships and national level competitions. Travelling helps you grow as a person in terms of researching about the place you are going to, meeting so many new people, learning about the diverse culture of our beautiful Indian cities, planning and making all arrangements for the trip. You are bound to face some kind of obstacles when you travel, however learning how to find a way out, enhances your practical problem-solving ability. This equips you to focus on solutions rather than the problems. As a university student, one should never miss any opportunity to travel and explore.

Making life long friends

Living away from your parents is not as easy as it sounds. You only realise the true importance of your parents and family when you live away from them. University is a place where your friends become your family. Friends are a very vital factor in contributing to your personal growth at uni. You learn to grow together, celebrate together and also grieve together. Cooking and cleaning the dishes, studying for exams, preparing for competitions, doing assignments, taking care of each other in sickness, helping each other up in times of difficulty are all instances where you learn to work as a team. This makes you a more adjustable and empathetic person. Memories that you make while living with your friends stay with you forever. It's an experience that no one should ever miss.

Becoming self-reliant

The path to becoming self-reliant is coming out of your comfort zone. When you live away from your parents you're thrown into a completely new world. You face unexpected challenges and are forced into doing things that you wouldn't have otherwise done if you lived with your parents. Doing things out of your comfort zone as a student makes you confident and independent. Gradually, you learn to take your own decisions and start taking responsibility for your actions.

Living away from your parents is a very liberating and once in a lifetime experience that no student should miss out on!