Being a Gozitan, like every other at age of 18, I found myself living a life I had never experienced before. When a child leaves their home, they are faced with many difficulties and realisations. From being pampered, being part of a family and looked after I found myself alone. Two years ago, a few months after finishing my A-levels I moved to Malta to start my higher level of Education. Unlike certain Gozitans that decided to travel to Malta everyday for lectures I decided to rent an apartment during the week whilst spending my weekends back home. Growing up with two working parents I became accustomed to occasionally cooking for myself and having to do chores around the house, however this was merely a fraction of what was to come. I soon realised I had to start dealing with things I never thought or cared to a certain point about such as paying electricity bills, setting up appointments for internet and television, scheduling with a meter reader, shopping for groceries, washing the appartment and cooking before and after school. The last one in particular was a shock to me, from having food on the table after school to having to prepare meals everyday, this would be the last thing I would like to do after a long school day.
I started to struggle with this as juggling with school life and responsibility in terms of running a household started to take its toll. It did not help matters by having a roommate who rarely had any lectures so was often spending her time in Gozo rather then in Malta contrary what I expected. The apartment was situated on the ground floor so it was dark enough during the day due to the lack of light but dark as well in terms of lack of human interaction and warmth. These things started to make me realise, I might have made a mistake, whether it was worth to move to Malta to avoid the hassle of travelling back and forth. This situation I found myself in was the complete opposite of what I imagined. From hearing stories from others about having fun living with their room mates and enjoying themselves, I found myself alone and dreading to go to the apartment. I found refuge in the library or amongst friends in their respective homes. Once that school year finished it was time to pack up and head back home. Once the summer was drawing to an end and it was time to head back to Malta I found myself faced with a problem of what I should do. Should I return to the apartment when my friend was never there? Should I start travelling to and back everyday? Or should I search for other alternatives? I realised that I should avoid both and find a proper alternative, this turned out to be moving in with another group of friends. I made sure that this time things would be different, the friends I chose to move in with were to be in Malta all the time as well as the apartment being be a warm place. The warmth stemming from actual sun light as well as the community. A year on and I find myself moving in with the same people once I return from Erasmus. This problem might not be such a horrible thing on a larger scale, there are far worse daily problems that make this look silly and childish. However, so far in my life this seemed to be a major problem. I tend to make decisions based on loyalty rather than self happiness. Whether it is where I should be living or whether I should go out and many other things. I look back on this example as a means to strengthen myself and to always remember that it is important to keep others happy but it is equally important to keep myself happy as well.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Rita Curmi2nd year Student Archives
May 2017
Categories |