Going away to college in a far away place can be a scary thing. You’re out of your comfort zone, you don’t know anyone and you don’t have your family or old friends as safety nets.

It’s easy enough for some high school seniors to pick a place within driving distance from their hometown. While it may seem like the safest decision, it might not be the best one.

To choose a college far away from home can completely change your perspective on life. You’re out there in the big, bad world alone, but you will grow stronger because of it.

Here are seven reasons why going to college far from home is the best:

1. You get to spread your wings

Going to college far from home is definitely intimidating, but that shouldn’t stop you from flying the proverbial coop and getting out into the world.

Being on your own forces you to grow up and learn to depend on yourself, to trust your judgments and learn from your mistakes. By the time you get out of college, you’ll be leaps and bounds ahead (maturity-wise) of your friends who decided to stay near the nest.

This is the time to build yourself up so that you can become the strongest you can be.

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2. Mom won’t show up to the dorm with a casserole, unannounced.

When you’re at college, you’re doing college. So if Mom and Dad can just randomly show up any time they want, it might become an issue.

While you’re all cracked out on energy drinks and anxiety while studying for exams or “accidentally” sleeping with a guy down the hall, you don’t want your parents to interrupt.

If you choose a far away college, you are fully safe potential from unplanned familial awkwardness. Can I get an amen?

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3. You can make a life that’s entirely your own

Sure, being near home has its advantages. You get free food and you’re near your friends — but in college, being near friends isn’t necessarily a good thing.

This reality puts you at risk for staying in your old routine, seeing the same people and going to the same places.

Being somewhere new forces you to meet new friends, make connections and learn a lot about yourself. Being far away doesn’t mean you’ll be forever alone — it just means you’ll start fresh and begin to build a life that belongs to only you.

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4. You’ll learn how to grocery shop

You’ll learn a lot of things when you’re in college, out there in The Great Unknown. Some of the things will be tasks that you probably never had to do while you were growing up.

Well, now you do. You’ll learn to buy your food and then (GASP!) cook your food. You’ll learn how to clean your bathroom and will finally realize when you need more toilet paper.

It can be tough to take care of yourself but ultimately, it’s totally worth it.

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5. You get to follow your own rules

When you’re far from the watchful eyes of your parental units, you get to live the way you want to live.

Whether that means spending all day in the library (yeah, right) or hitting the local dive bars until 4 am, no one is there to give you side eye when you walk through the front door or question where you’ve been all night.

You’re an adult now — plain and simple. You can do whatever you want and that is a beautiful thing.

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6. It forces you to find adventure

You’re now in the wonderful world of the undiscovered, in a new place where you’ve never lived before. Think of all the amazing new things you’ll try and bars — I mean, places — you’ll get to see.

Going to college far away from home is like an exciting four-year adventure. So, get out there, in the open air and breathe it all in.

Maybe you’ll fall in love with this new place and want to stay forever. I definitely did.

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7. Leaving your high school boyfriends at home

No. Packing them is not an option.

When you go away to college, you get to leave all of those boys behind. Who we are in high school and who we are in college tend to pain very different pictures. If you’re holding onto past loves, it’ll likely stunt your growth.

There are plenty of other guys out there on that new campus, many, many miles away from home.

If you choose to leave home and cut the cords, you’ll be that much more ready for the next phase of this journey called life.

Originally Posted on Elite Daily