Leaving the Nest

                High School is going to end soon, and for some of us that means leaving home to live off on our own.  It’s going to be difficult, trying to get enough money to pay for insurance, gas, rent, food, etc. and still have the time to go to college and study enough to pass, not to mention paying off student loans for who knows how many years, but despite how much things are going to change and how much harder it’s going to get, there’s still something really attractive about leaving home.  Now I’m not necessarily saying that in an ‘I can’t stand being here’ kind of way, but more of an ‘I can live my life how I want to now’ way.  There’s a sense of satisfaction know that after moving out, everything you do is completely on your own terms.  Don’t want to go to school anymore? You don’t have to.  Want to live with some good friends? Go for it.  Feel the need to sleep on a countertop every other Wednesday? Sure, whatever floats your boat.  You get what I mean, for the most part we won’t have to worry about what we want to do interfering with others, unless you dorm, but chances are they’d get used to it, since they don’t know how you were before. There’s also the question of where you’re going to live.  Some of us are going to live in apartments, others are going to dorm, or some might even get a couple friends together and get a house.  Of course all of this freedom is going to come at a price.  Literally.  Finding work isn’t necessarily as easy as it used to be anymore, and chances are we’d most likely have to put up with some pretty crummy jobs in order to get by.  It’s going to be hard, but not impossible.  Those who have work experience already are a step ahead, making it that much easier to get a job, but for those of us who don’t, we have to get searching before we leave.  So I want to know, what are your plans for college/work?  Anyone plan on moving out too, and if so, what kind of place do you plan on living in? For myself, I plan on going to SJSU and dorming there, for I’m pretty sure a daily 360+ mile commute is out of the question.  Another thing to consider though, is loneliness.  Sooner or later, it’s bound to happen, we’ll end up missing our family and old friends, and going home to an empty apartment/dorm/wherever you live will sometimes bring you down.   Or even the opposite, if you live with others daily, eventually you may run into something neither person can agree on and you will have to end up going back and facing them again after work/school. Living with others isn’t all bad though, it can help keep off loneliness and it means you’d be able to mess around with your friends whenever you want.  So now I extend my question, for those moving out, do you plan on living alone or with others, and what’s your reasoning for it?  I don’t mean to just poke into anyone’s business, but for those who are undecided on what to do, they may get some ideas from people who do know (more or less) what they plan on doing.