Moving Out: 1 Year On

Now I waited a little bit after the 30th June to write this post (a month basically) mainly because I moved out of halls and into a house and basically I was busy with finding jobs and doing bits on the side and have been very M.I.A with my blog at the moment and I apologise so here is a long blog post about what happened after I moved out and where I am today and how I got here.

So I left home (my Nan's house) on the 30th June 2016. That day was so hard for me. Leaving a place I called home was really scary but I knew at that point in my life I had to do it there and then. I waited with a friend and I stayed at his house for a few nights while I sorted things out and where I was going to stay and things like that. I was going to be moving into halls on September 10th that year for University so I had about 2-3 months to figure out where I would be staying and how I would get all my stuff for University with no job and no home.

After a few days at that friend’s house, I was able to stay with my ex-boyfriend for around 10 days while I sorted some money out and a place to stay till I could figure out what to do next. I was able to go to my best friends house after those 10 days. 

So on the 14th July, I travelled to Oxford from Derby to get picked up by my best friend’s mum for a 7 hour trip to Scotland. I must say, having only travelled twice to Scotland before, this was so long and I had to entertain myself a lot and I don’t understand why it was so different to the others. I think maybe I was baffled with travelling for so long, I just looked out the window with my music on like I was in a movie.

So I arrived that night and I pledged to myself I would get back down to England and would have sorted my life out and where I was going to stay until September when I went to University. I applied for jobs for the time I was in Scotland as I wasn’t doing much and it got quite boring. I got a job for a sales person who sells products on the streets but as soon as my taster session came around, I went into panic mode and knew that my anxiety would act up and I would be too scared to even go up to someone. This job was also commission based so I wouldn’t earn anything until I made a sale. This took my confidence in myself lower and I started to think what was I doing with my mental health. 

Luckily after moving out of my Nan's house, my depression lowered and I was much happier with myself. I still am. There were bad days and there were good days. I still remember feeling the joy when I got to sit down with my best friend and his family and just enjoy a family meal for once. 

At the end of July, my father said I could stay with him until I went to uni. So I planned to go down for my A-Level results which were on the 18th August and I planned to go on the 17th. I started planning what I needed to buy and take for Uni as most of the stuff I hadn’t got due to moving around the country for a month. I then decided I would go down a week early on the 13th August having been at my best friend’s house for around a month, I knew that I needed to go back to England and plan stuff for University. 

So the day came, I was running on no sleep and had to wake up at 4 am to catch my train at Irvine at 6:30 am. The trip cost me around £40. I split my tickets (so it would be cheaper) so I travelled from Irvine to Glasgow (ticket 1). I then took the train from Glasgow to Preston (ticket 2). I then met an internet friend, Alex who I haven’t met before at Preston to then travel to Manchester (still ticket 2). The waiting time in Manchester was around 40 minutes so we hung around the station until I went to catch my train from Manchester to Chesterfield (ticket 3). I then was picked up from Chesterfield by a friend and he drove us to Derby for lunch before I caught my next train from Derby to Leamington Spa (ticket 4). Bear in mind I left home with 5 bags which included my laptop, clothes and things I took when I left as I knew I would never go back. It was such a ball ache carrying all of those bags for the whole day. So after all that I arrived in Leamington Spa around 6:45-7pm. This meant I had been up for more than 24 hours and had done roughly around 10 hours of travelling already. IT DOESN’T END UP THERE, OH NO. 

My dad then drove down to Banbury to my Nan's house to pick up all of my stuff that was still there and let me tell you, I have never felt so awkward in what was once where I lived. I felt a stranger there. So I packed up my stuff and put it in the car. All of my stuff plus the 5 bags I brought down with me filled up the car. We got to my dad's place around 10 pm. I didn’t want to unpack anything except my charger and my laptop. 

I had done it. After over 14 hours of travelling and being up over 28 hours, I had finally got to a place I called home. I began to cry that night. I hadn’t lived with my dad for 7 years and it felt so weird. Mum wasn’t there and my sister lives up in the north so it was just me and him. It felt like my home but not my home. 

I had wanted to leave my Nan's house as soon as I turned 16 but because of my schooling, I couldn’t. I am glad I left when I did because I learned some lessons along the way.

• Don’t take anything for granted

I didn’t. Anyone who took me in, anyone who gave me a lift or money to help me with getting back home was a godsend and I have so many people to thank for that. So thank you to Ada, Liz, Tom D, Max, my friends and most importantly, my dad. He does so much for me and I couldn’t thank him enough for that day because I wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t there for me every step of the way and helping me. He helped me buy some things for University which I desperately needed and helped me move in. He still helps me to this day with dropping things off and driving me to and from Uni whenever I need to come down.

Now I don’t know if my Nan reads my blog as she doesn’t speak to me anymore. I have even tried communicating with her, even sending her a birthday wish through email. I got no reply. I just wanted to say thank you for taking me in when I was 10 and helping with my schooling and making sure I had a good education for the 7 years I lived with you. Yes, we disagreed but at times you knew best. Thank you for letting me come back to collect my things, thank you for giving me money for University supplies. Thank you for my birthday card. Thank you for giving me a home when I needed it. I hope you read this. 

• Take a leap of faith

I had no idea where I was going to end up when I left home. I’m currently writing this on my boyfriend’s bed. I live in Derby now. I go to the University of Derby. I got told I wouldn’t get into University by some of my family but I pushed myself because I wanted to prove them wrong and I did. I got into University and I’ve passed first year. I left home a year ago today (I am writing this on the 30th July 2017) and I am still alive and well to this day.


Take leaps of faith with what you want to do. Go for that job, apply to college or University. Love someone even though you may be scared to. Do the things you want to do before it is too late.

• Kindness goes a long way

Time and time again, people have shown nothing but kindness to me and I cannot thank them enough. Being kind to someone will brighten their day no matter how big the gesture is.

The things I achieved over the past year are:
• Passing my A-Levels
• Getting into University
• At least getting one 1st in one of my modules 
• Falling in love
• Earning some money by using my talents
• Growing my blog
• Gaining some unforgettable life-long friends

I hope this has given you an insight into what it has been like for me since that day and I hope you take something away from this. 

Let me know in the comments what your kind gesture will be this week! Also have a photo of me in Irvine last year!!