For me, the hardest part of writing is starting it, whether its a letter, a report, a memo or even just a status on any social media. I don't know why, I guess its because I'm undecided of what to write, or there are so many things that I want to share that I don't know where to start. I guess I'm always undecided its because my parents always got my back when they are still alive. Almost seventy percent of my life, it was them whose deciding for me. Not because I can't decide for myself but because its always "parents knows what's best for their kids" mentality. It was always them who decides for me. What school should I go to, What course should I take, What time I should be home, What kind of friends I should go out with. Stuff like that. I only had a chance to leave my parents roof when something happened way back 2014. Got a chance to have a reason why I want to leave my parents roof and why I should leave them. That's when I realized that life lessons are different when you are outside of your parents roof.
It started with looking for a place to stay. Of course, I needed a place to stay since I'm moving out from my parents. Boy, that's when I realized that i need to budget and save up money. For what? First, it was the house rental, You have to pay deposit and advance payment for the rental of the unit. The unit that I found back then cost about Php7,000 per month. That alone is not a problem for me since i said my monthly salary can cover for that. But i didn't realize that after that house rental bills there will be electricity bill, water bill, phone bill, internet bill and food that you are going to eat everyday. I managed to to pay all that bills with my monthly salary but nothing is left for my savings account and my extra curricular activities. That's when then time that I decided that I need someone to share with my bills.
Next thing that happened was that two of my officemates move in with me. Yey! not one but two person to share my bills. At first it was fun, of course, it was fun because I'll now have extra money for me to do my extracurricular activities. The getting to know period from officemates to housemates was fun too. But after a month of two, that we are already comfortable with each other, problems arise. We now noticed our differences, and the next lesson that I learned is knowing how to get along with everyone and how to compromise. It doesn't mean you are the boss just because you live there first. And you cannot expect the other person to do everything for you just to have a harmonious household. I never thought that living with other people will teach you a lot, and I also never thought that I'll miss my family that much after living with them. That's when I learned the value of family.
Why? I may be living with two people under one roof but the support and love that you are getting from your family are different. It doesn't mean that you live under one roof means you can depend on them. No, it doesn't work that way. You only live under one roof but all of you have different lives. They will not be there for you just like your family. But don't get me wrong, I may prove that living with your parents is much much better than moving out, but believe me, I enjoyed it that much that since then I always prefer to live outside their roof. It was also a training ground for me to be alone and learn to live on my own because after 5 years of living outside my parents' roof, my mom died.
If you will look back you will see that everything happens for a reason. That every struggle we face teach us a lesson. Every person that we meet plays an important role in molding us to who we are right now. Living away from your family teaches you something that you will never learn in school. And it also teaches you the value of family and relationships.
Thanks for reading! hope I didn't bore you at all.
It's really in our culture that our parents have much to say when it comes to the decisions that will affect our lives in the long run. It's as if as "As long as you live in the same house as us, you'll have to obey". And then when the kid grows up without those decision making capabilities, the blame will fall on the kid... I mean, you guys made him or her that way. Ugh.