How many times have you thought about moving out of your parents house, for them to say "your not old enough". Well my chance came when I was eighteen, and fresh out of high school. I just finished my all star football game and a coach approached me and said "hi I am Bill McConkey how would you like to play football for the Calgary Colts?" Calgary was the rival city about three and a half hours south of Edmonton where I grew up. The Calgary Colts are a semi pro team where players can play right out of high school, until they are twenty two, and they don’t have to be in school. I said I would think it over, and talk to my parents about it and see what they think. After about a week of talking and thinking it through my dad said it would be a good experience for me to get use to being away from home, since I will be going to college when I turn twenty-one. I was off to Calgary and right there and than I knew I was on my own and would have to take care of my self now.
Freedom, if used wrong can ruin a lot of things. I was in Calgary living on my own now. I went out, spent as much money as I want, stayed out until I wanted to and pretty much partied all my money away. When rent day came along I was broke, this was a big shock to me but I thought no worries I will tell the landlord I will be a week late. After talking to the landlord about it he said he cant accept that, and I would have pay or leave. This changed my whole perspective on life and how you have to take care of number one. After calling home and getting the rent money, something inside me clicked and I said to my self I would have to mature a little and buckle down. Things went smooth after that, I had a full time job, I was playing football, and I was getting respect from my parents.
Influences in life, which make someone mature, are mainly their parents and their friends. These influences are good; because they can help you out on your journey to adulthood and can help you find who you really are. I found my biggest influence to be my parents. In some cases I caught myself doing something my parents would do, like when shopping or cleaning. I used a lot of my parent's tactics to get through living on my own. I used my moms cooking skills, and my dad's problem solving skills. This helped me mature by giving me a path to follow and showing me ways to make every day life a little easier. I now realized that I can do this on my own if I just put a little thought into it.
After knowing I can handle life on my own, I knew I was ready to go to college, and gain an education. After moving to Calgary and living on my own I look back on the experience of living on my own and I laugh and I learn, but most importantly I matured to a certain level and according to my sister I have to mature a little more.
