Moving away

[jenkins]

Hello everyone,

I got accepted to UBC. I have stayed in Ontario my whole life, I have never lived so far away from home before. I do not know anyone there, it's an entirely new chapter. I am excited but also a bit scared with this new adjustment. Does anyone have any advice or gone through a similar experience?

[molarmania]

I have a friend at UBC dentistry and he tells me that living on a campus on the other side of the country isn't as difficult as it seems. He flies home around twice a year (once for the holidays and once for reading week) and so he just has to organize his reunions with old friends around this timeframe. With that said, I've heard that you can easily make new friends by finding people from the same province during orientation

[cleanup]

You're moving to BC, not to Zimbabwe.

You're young and you would benefit greatly from seeing this as an opportunity to learn, be open minded, meet new people, and experience life.

If you want life to be stable, predictable, same-same, forever, not only will you a) be sorely disappointed but also b) possibly bored and stunted. That's just my opinion, but I would argue that as someone who is going to professional school, you may want to maintain that curious, open, experience-driven mindset.

I grew up in a small town for 15 years, and then moved halfway around the world to Asia for a few years. It took a lot of convincing from my family, but it is by far and above a defining period in my life. It opened my mind, it opened my world. I would not be who I am today if not for that experience. Truth be told, I think my life would be much more regressive, narrow in experience and boring had I not been exposed to something so unfamiliar.

I then moved to Toronto when I was 18 for school, and lived on my own while my family was still in Asia. That again, was initially worrying, but living on my own, responsible solely for myself, with only myself to rely upon, was again untold in its enriching value.

Have fun. Enjoy yourself. Learn, meet, grow.

I would not be surprised in the least if 4 years from now you end up staying in Vancouver, or moving somewhere you never would have dreamed of now. You're young as hell; don't let the importance and freedom of that be lost on you.

[IMislove]

1 hour ago, cleanup said:

You're moving to BC, not to Zimbabwe.

You're young and you would benefit greatly from seeing this as an opportunity to learn, be open minded, meet new people, and experience life.

If you want life to be stable, predictable, same-same, forever, not only will you a) be sorely disappointed but also b) possibly bored and stunted. That's just my opinion, but I would argue that as someone who is going to professional school, you may want to maintain that curious, open, experience-driven mindset.

I grew up in a small town for 15 years, and then moved halfway around the world to Asia for a few years. It took a lot of convincing from my family, but it is by far and above a defining period in my life. It opened my mind, it opened my world. I would not be who I am today if not for that experience. Truth be told, I think my life would be much more regressive, narrow in experience and boring had I not been exposed to something so unfamiliar.

I then moved to Toronto when I was 18 for school, and lived on my own while my family was still in Asia. That again, was initially worrying, but living on my own, responsible solely for myself, with only myself to rely upon, was again untold in its enriching value.

Have fun. Enjoy yourself. Learn, meet, grow.

I would not be surprised in the least if 4 years from now you end up staying in Vancouver, or moving somewhere you never would have dreamed of now. You're young as hell; don't let the importance and freedom of that be lost on you.

[cleanup]

2 hours ago, IMislove said:

Are you trying to be funny?

[IMislove]

26 minutes ago, cleanup said:

Are you trying to be funny?

It was, i giggled. I agree with your comment if that wasn’t clear. I enjoy straight shooters like yourself.

To OP, like cleanup said, moving young is a gift as you get to experience so much and change as a person, hopefully for the better. It establishes more maturity, more self reliance, and you get to see a bit of the world. Plus don’t need to freeze your butt off all winter which is a plus ahah.

[Bambi]

Life is about taking responsible risks, leaving our comfort zone, expanding our horizons, seeking new challenges and always developing, as we each contribute to our personal growth and to society in our own unique way. This is why you are embarking upon your journey! 
I too moved away for professional school where everybody, at first, were strangers. My only friends in the world now  are from this school and we rarely get together as we are all in different cities.

[ArdentMed]

This is an opportunity to learn and foster more independence. I would view this as a blessing in disguise. 

[anon12223]

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[FingersCrossedPls]

Congrats on your acceptance! I just wanted to point out that it is very brave of you to move out right now! Everyone in this thread is sharing their personal experiences and how they rose to the occasion, but I can guarantee you they did not do it during a Global Pandemic! Of course you are nervous and you have every right to be! It will be hard being away from family and friends while simultaneously not being able to effectively make new family and friends (of course you can make friends online but you know what I mean), or not being able to explore your new home for at least a few months. But you beat the odds of getting into med school and you’ll surely beat the odds of your own expectations for your capabilities. Best of luck! Go crush it! 

 

[peachyjeon]

My sister lived in Ontario her whole life then moved to BC. She said that while it is tough at first to live so far away from home, she feels like it is actually a great experience. She loves BC. She's also meeting LOADS of great people. I'm actually quite jealous because she loves it there so much haha.

Congrats on the acceptance to UBC btw!