Lots of people find it tough to move away from home for the first time.  For many it is through University or college, the advantage being you are surrounded by people who are experiencing exactly the same thing.   However for me it was a gap year, spent in a small town in Turkey on the South Western coast.

It was actually quite a scary time for me, I was intending to work for an Travel firm who ran adventure courses like mountain biking, sailing and orienteering plus a load of other things.  It seemed like a great chance to get some practical experience on my CV before starting my Leisure based degree in Nottingham.

It’s not something you can prepare yourself for I guess, but I found it incredibly tough at the beginning.  The people I worked with great, they really looked out for me and I got a gentle introduction into what was my first employment.   I have to say I nearly quit after two weeks though, being incredibly homesick and missing my friends.  But then it changed.

It was a realization I guess that if I gave up,  the next time I tried it would be worse.  The other thing I did was to stop behaving like a tourist and embrace the lifestyle of the locals around me.  I had previously spent the first two weeks sitting in my room, with my laptop signed in to a British VPN in order for me to watch UK TV.  Instead I started mixing with my colleagues and socialising.   I soon made lots more friends and became much more confident.

So perhaps my message is that when it comes for you to move from home, just embrace it.  Meet people, experience your new surroundings and realise it’s a whole new chapter to your life.