Leaving the nest: Things that prepped me

It’s been a couple of months now… Actually, almost a year since I made the big move. Leaving the nest. I always wanted to move out, and I knew I would…well, eventually. But every time I thought of actually doing it, I would get goosebumps. Literally. I mean, how was I going to survive? What if I got broke and was miles away from home? There was just so much that crossed my mind every time I thought of it.

Anywho, fast forward…. I made it! Yaay people, I survived! It’s almost a year now out of the nest. Of course I have been home a couple of times not just for a weekend, but a week or even more. I mean, there just comes a time when you need to ‘breastfeed.’

All along before I left, I think I was already being prepared. There are times I thought I had so much responsibility to carry out, but it was all a way of preparing me for what to come.

What prepared me?

Cooking

As young kids, dad would always be like, “People your age know how to cook and you don’t…” Well, with time I developed an interest in cooking. Little by little, the kitchen became my place of experimenting.

Of course how was I going to survive without knowing how to cook? Take out? (And the way I live so close to KFC) I get home from work and make myself dinner before I even start on my work. Take outs would be much easier for me, considering my weekdays are usually crazy. But oh well, seeing mum cook every day after leaving work taught me the same. I do it so effortlessly, having learned it from home.

Time management

As a teenager, every time I wanted to go out and hang out with friends, my parents would always be like, “What time will you be back?” And trust me if you came late without communicating you would be late, the next time you wanted to go out, you would not be allowed out of the house.

Now, I go for parties, events, and the like. I always plan, knowing I am in control of my time. So if it gets to a certain time, I am always calling an Uber. No one is here to follow up on where I am and all, but it is a lesson I carried with me.

My time is what I always have control of. People even wonder where I am running to, but I always know if I extend my stay, something at home will suffer. Mostly, my work and sleep especially because I always want to get a good rest so as to be very productive.

Cash management

My parents will tell you that I have always been a good ‘manager’ of cash. I have always learned to account for the cash I have. However, I am also a spendthrift, especially when I crave something, see beautiful shoes and clothes, or spot a Danielle Steel book I haven’t read hee.

Something I was taught growing up is handling cash and being held accountable for how much I have spent and on what. It has actually worked for me. Even when I am dead broke, I know I have enough to last me till the next pay day.

Then the way, back home the house is always stocked with stuff, so that even with brokenness there is still food, it is something working for me.

All in all, it has boiled down to my parents. There are those things I saw and was never taught that have made me survive. And then, there are those hard lessons I had to learn. My paps would at times say, “Bado hujaiva.” That would mean, there are things I still needed to work on so as to be better in terms of surviving.

It is all about being responsible. Yes, I miss home, but hey, there comes a time when one has to leave and proceed to the next level of life, where I am headed 😉