My First Time Away From Home
By Cindy Sasnia Putri

         Leaving home just to pursue education is quite a challenge for someone. It's usually happened because home is a place where all of the family is together. Everyone wants to be close to their family. But, there are times when one should be away from home. There are many reasons why a person should go away from his or her home, like going for education or looking for work out of town. It also happened to me. My name is Cindy Sasnia Putri Ananda Kadir. My hometown is Dumai City. This is my first time far away from home to continue my education outside the city.

       After I graduated from high school, I decided to continue my education outside the city. The city I intended to continue my education in was Pekanbaru, Riau Province. The reason I chose Pekanbaru city is because Pekanbaru is not too far away from my home. In addition, there was a famous college and many people wanted to study there. I want to continue my education at the University of Riau. The University of Riau is one of the largest universities in the province of Riau and it has a good quality of education. That's why I decided to continue my education by enrolling online at the University of Riau. When I saw my name in the announcement, it surprised me because I passed to enter the University of Riau, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, English Department Study Program. My decision to attend university outside of town came true. 

      When my parents knew that I was going on to Pekanbaru city, exactly the University of Riau, my parents were hesitating to let me go alone, because it was my first time away from home. My parents were sad and felt that they didn't want to be away from me. But, on the other hand, my parents wanted me to succeed by continuing my education according to my wishes. My parents allowed me to take care of myself even though I was away from home. They gave me advice, so that I could study well.

        When I was away from home for the first time, I was very sad because I will be away from my family and rarely see my home again. But, I still had to continue my education as I intended. It's all for my future to get better. In addition, my parents took part in driving me to Pekanbaru city. When I arrived at Pekanbaru city, I felt something different from what I feared when I first set out to go away from home. I sense a different atmosphere in my previous home. In Pekanbaru, I already have friends even though I'm new to Pekanbaru. I already feel comfortable in the city of Pekanbaru. So, my parents won't have to worry anymore because I'm comfortable here even though my parents always feel sad far from me. 

         In the end, home is a place that can bring a family together and make a family comfortable. Of course, everyone doesn't want to be separated from his or her family, but something telling them to be apart from his or her family. Well, being away from home is a sad thing, but it can't always be sad if you never try it. My parents didn't originally allow me to go away from home, but then my family realized that leaving would make my life better and more successful. So, they allowed and put their full trust in me. I didn't want to upset the trust my parents gave me. So, I was very good at keeping that trust. So, my first impression of being away from home was comfortable and wasn't so bad.