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How studying away from your home & parents makes you a better person

Of course you can be a great person if you spend your 20s at your home sweet home and enjoy all of the benefits that decision provides you – there are exceptions to every rule. But more likely you'll stay the same person you were during high school, and then, when time comes and life asks you to be an adult, you won't know how to become one in a short time!

On my first job interview I was surprised when my future boss said “But you studied abroad!“ in response to my worries about managing all the tasks I had to do for his company. After a few months, I realized why he said that—and he was right!

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You learn how to MANAGE many different daily activities (studying,  socializing, shopping, cooking, cleaning, servicing broken things at your home, etc...)

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A week before your exam, you live with your parents: Your job is only to study, your mom wakes you up in the morning and makes you breakfast, then brings you lemonade and cookies and so on and so on. A week before your exam, if you study away from home: You have to study a lot, but you still have to eat! So you have to organize yourself very well. You somehow find a way to go shopping, to cook for yourself or buy food, you still have to clean your room/apartment and so on. Imagine a broken refrigerator in the middle of exam season! Of course you won't continue to live without refrigerator – you'll call for service and organize the repair.

To conclude, living on your own means multitasking everyday, all day long. This improves your organizational skills a lot!

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nsls-ut-studentlife10-mandymyers

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You learn how to MANAGE your monthly budget

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When you live on your own during your studies, you'll have your monthly budget, no matter where it comes from (parents, scholarship, student job, summer savings...). You'll be the one who has to pay bills every month, who has to buy food, clothes, books and everything else you need. Each day you'll make small decisions about your priorities. Sometimes you'll spend all your money for concerts, festivals, and going out, and you'll eat rice or bread for 30 days, and that's fine. Or (if you're a girl) you'll buy that expensive dress and you'll eat nothing for a week (hey, the dress will fit better!). You'll enjoy the freedom of decision making, but along the way you'll learn a lot about cause and effect and the value of money!

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You have to be responsible, or you’ll fail

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There won't be anyone to wake you up, to tell you when you have to be at school or work, to tell you that you have to study, etc. At the beginning it will be tough, and that's when you'll decide whether you want to continue or you want to give up and go back home. If you continue, you'll become responsible enough not to waste your time and money, but to do your best to learn as much as you can and enjoy your days as a student.

Of course, depending on your character, you'll do it your own way. I was the kind of student who delayed a lot of tasks and enjoyed “la dolce vita“ as long as possible, and then studied day and night to pass my exams, but I always knew my limits. I had to. I felt responsibility for my studies!

I loved that feeling of freedom to decide when and how I wanted to do my daily activities. Sometimes, I enjoyed waiting for the sunrise for not very “studious“ reasons, or skipping first lecture for a coffee at some sunny terrace, but still, I always managed to do all that had to be done because I felt that I was the only one responsible for my studies and my future!

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You learn how to build good relations with many different people (even if you don’t like them very much)

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You'll probably have roommates, unless you're financially well-off. But even in that case, I'd recommend roommates, at least during your first two to three years of studies. Instead of living with your parents and your siblings you'll suddenly live with complete strangers! You'll have to be very patient, disciplined, flexible and friendly. Even on your bad days, it won't be nice to leave dirty dishes. You'll discover that the concept of “clean“ varies very much from person to person. You'll listen to some music you don't really like, or have guests you don't want sometimes....but as time passes, you'll make some lifelong friends. Some of those people you share the best of times (as well as the hardest times) with will become your second family!

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Smiling man holding Anywhere sign and hitchhiking at roadside

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So pursue opportunities as long as you can!

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Don't let excuses, such as money, keep you from going abroad. Find a scholarship, work during the summer while you are a bachelor and save to go somewhere for your master’s degree. There are thousands of scholarships available on HeySuccess.com (including $200,000,000 in scholarships offered by foreign governments every year to students just like you).

Find a way, because there are so many opportunities all around the world.

P.S. Don’t expect your parents to find you a scholarship!

Also, if you cannot find a scholarship to study abroad, then fine…stay in your city but go for work and travel during summer breaks! Find an internship! This student had 16 internships and jobs in 14 countries.  Visit conferences around the world, volunteer, work as a waiter at some beach or mountain.

These experiences will affect your personality more than any book you’ll read or any grade you’ll get at your university. Don’t let your soul die young and lazy; move on and make your life great!

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Written by: Jelena Radovanić

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