Our youngest daughter is gutsy (or maybe it is youthful ignorance). At 18 she followed her heart and took herself back to the Sunshine Coast. She stayed with a friend, found herself two hospitality jobs, somewhere to live and got her offer from uni (and deferred). We are immensely proud of her. In the process she made the discovery that it costs a lot to live; things like rent, food, phone and running a car (which her parents had tried to explain before she left). She also discovered that the unexpected happens; things like not getting expected shifts at work and speeding fines (whoops) and when you have no emergency money it is enough to tip you over the financial edge (which her parents had tried to explain before she left). She also discovered that she really hadn't saved quite enough before she left (which her parents had also tried to explain before she left). She came to the realisation that she wanted more from her gap year than living on the Sunshine Coast and that her dreams of travelling overseas required money and saving was not possible while living independently. And although her parents had tried to explain a lot of things, she figured most stuff out for herself and learned important life lessons along the way.
So our girl is heading home for a bit to take advantage of free accommodation and free food and whatever else might be free too. She has contacted her old place of work and got her job back and is planning on working and saving hard. Her parents will encourage her to research, plan and prepare adequately before she heads off on her next adventure. No doubt some more important life lessons will be learned along the way. We just wish it wasn't so stressful watching your child learning!
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