10 Things I Learnt After Moving Out of My Parent’s House
3. Deciding what to eat, is harder than cooking it.
I come from a country in Southeast Asia. In my country, kids usually move out of their parent’s house in only 2 scenarios:
They’ve to pursue education elsewhere.
They’ve a job in another state/country.
I had none. And, I continued living in their house till I was 26. My life was way too comfortable. My parents are relatively modern, okay with my life choices and never push opinions on me. So, I guess I had it easy.
2020, was a year of personal upheaval for me. I went through so much that I sometimes, joke with my friends, that I actually reached adulthood and grew up in 2020. After reaching rock bottom, I decided that I had to move out. The pandemic was upon us, so traveling to another country was not an option. I moved out into an apartment, with 2 girls, who I now think are my friends.
But there’s a laundry list of things that I learned while living here for the last 3 months.
- Paying bills is hard
My sense of individualism so far had been clouded, because I would spend all of my income on leisure. Suddenly, I was supposed to think of house rent, water bills, and electricity bills.
The life of leisure no longer existed. We had to make ends meet. - Laundry doesn’t happen on its own
Washing and drying clothes is a tedious task, we can't be friends if you don't agree. Before you know it, the pile is larger than you and will take hours to finish. Clean underwear seems like a luxury. - Deciding what to eat, is harder than making it
You have a cook. She’s standing in front of you, once again, asking you what you want for dinner. And you don’t know. It’s so freaking hard.
The life of burgers, pizzas, and rolls doesn’t last forever. You gotta choose nutritious, healthier options. - Furniture costs a bomb
I’ve always wanted my cozy little space, with a reading corner, and floor seating, and I want to end my day with a glass of wine and a 3-wick candle burning.
In reality, my cozy little space- is the entire apartment, the reading corner is where I can stack my books, we have to drink wine out of coffee mugs because we haven’t had the chance to shop for wine glasses yet, and the candle? Well, that still burns. - Houses don’t clean themselves
Coasters are important. And you gotta water the plants. The cushion will not magically go back on the couch in the mornings. Dust comes out of nowhere and the showers get mold faster than you think.
Cleaning your house is hard and you can’t really escape it. Especially when you share your space with two others and you have OCD! - You can leave the house dirty if you like
Since no one’s going to tell you that you have to clean it. You can leave it dirty and be okay with it?
I remember how crappy I used to find my ex-boyfriend’s room because it was always unclean. He never folded his quilt, half of his clothes would be a pile on his bed and the dust! I used to ask him, why he never cleaned. I guess he was just okay with it! - Grocery shopping is fun!
No one’s stopping you from getting 5 jars of peanut butter or a dozen of instant noodles. You can get ice-cream at 2 am if you want and no one’s going to judge you if your cart is full of random things. But remember, coffee needs milk. So pls make lists! - You can sleep whenever you want, and hang out with whoever you want
Though if you’re like me, you’ll hate having people over. Because they mess up your space. And you have to entertain them. - You start enjoying your own company
I’ve started dreading going out and seeing others. I enjoy being my own person. Reading, working out, and being more in touch with my inner self. It really really helps.
I’ve even started meditating, though my attention span is that of a goldfish. - You want to hang out with your parents more!
I honestly, couldn’t wait to move out. I was so excited. And now, every few weeks, I see myself going back home. Your parents suddenly seem like nice innocent people and their company starts becoming bearable (heck! even enjoyable)!
All in all, it’s a great experience, and you sure should try doing it sometime! :)
