By Ryan Satkowiak

I believe that growing up on my own has prepared me for real life.

Going to college exactly 2,392 miles away from home has given me a new perspective on things. As cool as it is to have mom and dad around to lean on, they won’t always be there to hold my hand; they won’t always be able to guide me through life.

The author as a small child, along with mother and father. Photo by Carnival Cruise Staff Member.

I hear a lot of kids complain about living at home. They claim they want to be independent. But when they finally get away, they seem to always find their way back home.

And what is that going to teach you? That when times are rough, and you don’t want to face adversity on your own, that mommy and daddy are just a two hour car ride away?

Newsflash. That isn’t how the real world works.

My dad instilled that message in me for as long as I could remember. He would tell me, “Ryan, life isn’t fair. Someday, you’re going to have to figure things out on your own.”

Never did I think I would have to do that as an 18-year old college freshman. In a foreign town. With no friends, no parental security blanket.

It was then that I learned how to be responsible. As much as my parents wanted to be there to guide me, both them and I knew this was a lesson better off learned on my own.

They were always protective of me as a child, sometimes over-protective. I hated it, I wanted to be able to do my own thing without their input.

Little did I know how difficult that would be.

Having to wake myself up in the morning, having to budget every single one of my expenses, it was all new to me.

It should never have been that way. A paperwork screw up prevented me from going to San Jose State, a two-hour drive from my hometown.

I could have been one of those kids, but I’m not. I’ve had to play the cards that were dealt to me.

And I believe having to go through this in college has better prepared me for the real world, for life after college.

Unlike many of my peers, I now understand why parents get pissed when you leave lights on: electricity is not cheap. I understand how to balance my expenses, to make sure I can afford that new CD, but still have enough money to feed myself for the week.

For some kids, they won’t know what that’s like until after college, maybe even later. A recent survey of college students showed that 60 percent of them plan to move back home after graduation.

The author, left, along with his father at AT&T Park in San Francisco in July 2010. Photo by Luke DeBenedetto.

I don’t want that. I love my parents more than anything, but after experiencing living on my own, I could never go back to that.

I know how to live on my own. I know how survive without my parents being just a short drive away.

But I believe that their trust, their faith in me has allowed me to feel this way.

I believe in being independent, and that once you experience it, you will never want to go back.