Moving Away From Home for the First Time at 21 | Internship in BC Diaries

Hi, I'm Julia, and in 2024 I filmed an internship search series where I documented my journey of looking for a job as per my college requirements. And fortunately, after one interview, I got a role where I needed to relocate to the other side of the country— Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Moving to BC has been a dream, and living alone to practice my independence has been long overdue. A big change is coming, and the obsessed with filming everything person that I am, I thought it was only fitting that I document this whole journey for anyone who's also going to be in a similar position, traveling to a new place on all by themselves. I don't wanna be far. Sorry. I don't wanna be far. Sorry. The move is coming up in just a day and I'm nervous, but not as nervous as my parents. I don't think they trust that I'm capable to live on my own, and I'm not complaining. I don't think I even trust myself. I'm a big scatterbrain and bad with directions and have a terrible habit of losing things. Sometimes I forget to lock our door on the way out and come home later than promised. My parents say I'm disorganized, and I like to disagree with them because I put organized on my resume and want to live up to that standard. But I think they're right. I may be organized in my school and work life, but personal life, I definitely could be better, which is why this big move to British Columbia all on my own means a lot to me. I can finally prove to my parents, but more importantly to myself, I have what it takes to be on my own and thrive, not just survive. Oh my gosh, it's almost time. It's almost time. I'm pretty much all finished packing. I have my suitcase all ready. I have to make sure the luggage is 23 kilograms, and it's perfect. It's— I think it's around 21 kilograms, so I can even put some more stuff in it if I need to. I'm also bringing this camera bag with all my camera equipment. I'm bringing all my— pretty much all my camera equipment besides my bigger tripod, which I'm going to leave at home. And then I have my big hiking bag, which I take to all my travels, which is perfect too, because if I ever want to go hiking with friends, which hopefully that happens. Hey guys, so I am about to go to bed. It is around 10 PM and I'm going to go to bed right now because I have to wake up at around 2:30. So yeah, good night everyone, I'll see you tomorrow morning. Oh my gosh, good morning guys, it's time to get ready. No, how could you video? What? The only other time I lived away from my parents was in the summer of 2022. I was 18 and went to work at a summer camp, but my sister was with me. It was only for a month and food was provided, so I don't think that really counts. Still, I did really miss home and remember calling my parents saying I wanted them to pick me up earlier. I wanted to quit the job because I wasn't enjoying it. My sister, on the other hand, seem to be loving it. Okay, she's a year younger than me but is so much better at being independent. I used to envy her for that. She's way more responsible, confidently drives a car on her own. Me, I can barely drive for an hour without getting anxious despite having my full driver's license as well. But I'm slowly starting to appreciate all that I can do. And even though I'm not as skilled of a driver or as independent as I want to be, I'm giving myself some grace and telling myself I'll get there. I have a whole life ahead to live independently It just takes time and practice, and this move is the practice that I need, the practice that's gonna change everything. Hey guys, I landed! I'm officially in Vancouver. It's actually so insane. I'm so excited. My flight got delayed to about 2 hours, so I'm just gonna be in this airport for quite a bit, but I'm just gonna explore and just take all this in because This is happening. I'm actually in Vancouver. This is insane. I'm super grateful to be able to have this opportunity to live in a new province at 21. But by no means do you need to do the same if you want to become a more responsible and self-sufficient person. You don't need to throw yourself in the deep end and do something extreme from the get-go. I see a mountain. Literally a mountain over there. Probably take small actions in your hometown to work on your adulting, like taking the bus instead of getting your parents to drive you so you can wrap your mind around the different routes and how to get to places on your own. Or maybe show you're capable of making your own meal by helping your mom with cooking dinner or baking a delicious treat for your family to enjoy. There are so many ways to become more responsible that doesn't require moving 2,000 miles away. But if you can do that, then do it too. At my university, not only can I work abroad, but there are also opportunities to study abroad. Go on exchange. It's a great way to step outside of your comfort zone, see more of the world, and make new friends. Out of mind, out of sight, out of mind. Drop your windows down, we could take a ride. Out of sight, out of mind. Oh my gosh, wait, Audrey's bro here? Yes. Oh my gosh. One thing I was anxious about with this big move was getting homesick. I relied so much on my parents' and sister's comfort. I thought I'd feel overwhelmed knowing I couldn't come to them for support. When it comes to making any decision, I usually talk to my dad to get his input. Sometimes I think he knows what's best for me more than I do myself. There are so many instances where I've made some not-so-good decisions, like dating or spending time with the wrong people, or saying yes to opportunities I'd have to later say no to because they didn't end up aligning with my priorities. Hey guys, so I am here. I moved into my home for the next 4 months. Oh my gosh, it looks good. I already feel so at home. Let me show you guys a quick little tour. This is how the entrance looks. These are just my shoes. There's a sofa and then a TV, which I probably won't be using. But after this, we go into the kitchen. It's actually really, really nice, and can't believe I get a kitchen to almost myself. I have a roommate, but there's only two of us. So there's spots for all the snacks for me. We have the fridge, lots of room in the fridge, a stovetop, which is very classy, very old, but It's gonna work. Microwave. We have a little dining table, another table back there. We're gonna go into my favorite part, my room, of course. Before that, we have a shower here. This is my roommate's washroom, but then it's the shower that we share. And then to the right, this is my room, guys. I right now, it's like, I still have to unpack it, but I will be doing a room tour once I put everything together. Until then, this is kind of what you guys are getting. I have like a lot of bags right here, but I really love this table. It's so big. It's actually very similar size to my table back home, so lots of room. Chair. We have so many shelves, and then we have hangers, which thank goodness we have a drawer— a drawer, which is so awesome, guys. Guys, like, I don't have a drawer like this at home, so this is just perfect. Garbage. The carpet is so good. Think about it. Like, I could be doing yoga here. I'm definitely going to be doing morning yoga here, dancing workouts. And then we have a little— a window, which kind of unfortunate the window is really small because this is in the basement. But— and guys, the bed! Oh my gosh, my favorite part. The bed is queen size. Like, me testing it a little bit, it seems very comfortable. We have a very beautiful painting, which again, like, mountains, my favorite thing. Again, we have lots of stuff here. I already put my little protein bars in there. But my another favorite part of this room is that I get my own sink, my own washroom, my own toilet, my own little cabinet area I can put my stuff in, maybe my like suitcase. And then of course, you guys, nothing too interesting, but we have a washroom, another washroom, all to myself. Amazing. Yeah, a quick little tour. Again, I'll show you guys more of a tour once everything is situated. I am so tired, guys. It is 2:41 PM right now here in Victoria, but back home in Ontario it's already reaching to 6 PM. I'm so excited, like I'm already— I have so much to tell you guys about first impressions because all my first impressions are so, so positive. Even though it's kind of gloomy outside and it's kind of raining, still I'm already feeling like I'm on an island. I'm already feeling like I'm slowing down. It's just so good. But I do have a lot of planning I have to do. I have to do grocery shopping because I have zero food right now. I have to, you know, buy some like stuff for the— I have to buy some soap, I have to buy some except for the washroom. Literally, I feel like this whole next week is going to be just me like settling in. Making your own decisions and believing in yourself before anyone else is a part of adulting, and my dad reminded me this. He and my mom are not always going to be there, and I need to learn how to use my own critical and decision-making skills to figure things out. Living in British Columbia for 4 months, I hope to get better at trusting myself. Okay guys, so I got ready for bed. I took a quick shower and I put my Invisalign on— or no, I mean retainer on. And yeah, I'm actually going to finish off the day with posting Instagram stories to kind of show everyone that I've made it. It's almost 5 PM and it's already getting dark, so I think I'm definitely gonna be able to fall asleep quickly. But yeah guys, I will see you guys tomorrow morning. Bye! Calling out to me, I can make someone cry. It goes on and on and it's not for better. I know you're tired now, but you can't stop this feeling. Do you feel it? Okay guys, so I just finished planning everything. I kind of studied the routes to everything. There's a bus stop like 1 minute away from here, so I want to take that because the first thing we got to do is find the office, so I'm actually about to head out right now. My roommate just left too, by the way. I have a roommate and she's so sweet. I talked with her a little bit today and yesterday, but hopefully we'll become a little closer. Anyways, yeah, so I'm about to head out. I also got— I created a list of everything I want to buy at Walmart because that's like the cheapest. Um, I want to get some shampoo, some shaving cream, a little container to like put on my desk, and then I want to maybe buy a laundry bag. Definitely a shower towel. I have one towel. I'm not planning on buying any food just yet. Grocery haul will be coming though in a future video. I'm gonna eat a protein bar because I did bring my favorite protein bars, True Bars, 4 of them here just for like a little snack. And so I'm gonna eat one for breakfast because again, I don't have any food yet. Budgeting and keeping track of payments is going to be a huge thing I'm gonna need to be mindful with when living on my own. Vancouver Island prices are not cheap and rent is also high, So unfortunately, a lot of what I'm going to be making at my internship will go towards just living here. I'm definitely a spender, so minimizing what I buy is going to be a big challenge. Little sneak peek into the future: by the time I'm voice recording this, I've been here a week and have already spent $200. I'm worried that it's a bit too much, so I'm hoping to bring it down just a little bit for week 2. Spending as little as I can challenge? That may just be a great video idea. Hello everyone, so I am at the bus stop just waiting for the bus. It's supposed to come in around 10 or so minutes, so I'm really excited for that. I'm using this Umo bus app, so I just have to scan the QR code and I can use the bus. So that's really handy. And I also ended up switching to a black jacket because As much as it is like fairly warm compared to back home, it is kind of like chilly. I'm just passing the grocery store that I want to go to, Save On Foods. I just passed like a lane where homeless people live. There's so many homeless people, like there's a ton. I actually got scared for a minute. I made it! This is the office. It's so big, but so pretty. There's like elevators. It's so cool. You see that way? But yeah, I made the office. You guys will see a full-on week in the life as an intern here for the next video, so stay tuned for that. Okay guys, so now I'm walking to Walmart. It's around a 44-minute walk, and I was like, you know what, why not just walk there, get some steps, and also explore the city at the same time? So that's what I'm doing right now. Oh my god, I see, I see Chinatown, the first ever Chinatown that was built in Canada, I'm pretty sure. Oh my gosh, I might check that out later. Found the mall. I was not looking for the mall, but I just found it. It's pretty big. I'm in Uptown Victoria right now. I was not planning on coming here, but turns out Walmart is here and oh my gosh guys, look what I just ran into! The whole street has Christmas lights, there's these igloos you can sit in. There's an igloo! Wait, that's so gorgeous. Exploring spontaneously is so much fun because you really don't know what you're going to run into. Another palm tree, guys! What I'm proud of myself for is actually looking at prices now and trying to buy the cheapest options and slowly shifting from a "I really want this" to "How's this going to benefit my life" mindset. The other day I was in the store buying some groceries and I stumbled upon these Biscoff in the shape of Oreo cookies. They look delicious and it's not something I've seen being sold in Ontario, but I didn't give in to temptations. Yes, they looked good and yes, I'm a big sweet tooth, but I'm also trying to eat healthier and buy foods that are actually going to fill me up and make for decent meals. So I pass on them for now. I'm not saying I won't treat myself from time to time. I definitely want to, but it shouldn't be a daily occurrence. I'm aiming to go out to a restaurant or buy myself a treat at least 2 times a week. There's just so many restaurants and bakeries to explore. I'd be doing myself a disfavor not to. Plus, I'm only here for 4 months. Might as well make the most of it because as much as I've been loving it here already, I'm not sure when I'll come back. I really do hope though. I really hope I come back. Yay guys, I just finished my first big girl shopping trip and I got all the necess— necessities. Living away from home can be hard, especially if you end up living in an environment that you don't really like. That's how I felt in my summer camp job 3 years ago, but I don't feel this way here on Vancouver Island. I'll give you more of an overview in my next video, but so far everything has exceeded expectations. The nature here is breathtaking. I live next to the ocean. I know, crazy. And the people are the most kindest ever. My internship has been so much fun and the projects I've started are so incredible. There's just so many other good things I want to share, but I need to be hushed for now because you'll hear everything in my first week on Van Island video. Such a great day today, guys. Absolutely loved exploring the town. I got to see so much and I got so many steps. I think I went over like 10,000 steps, which is so great. But tomorrow is the first day of work, and my first day of work is actually going to be for a separate video. It's going to be a week in my life as an intern. I'm pretty much ending the video this like little move-in vlog here. Thank you so much for watching, guys. Be sure to stay tuned because I'm going to be hopefully doing vlogs weekly about my time here in Victoria, and there's just so much I want to share. I'm really looking forward to sharing these next few months with you. Living alone for the first time doesn't have to be as difficult as you think. I'm here to show you just how freeing and amazing it is, coming from someone who's doing it for the first time too. You got this. You're seriously more capable than you think. Just have a little faith in yourself. Be safe, listen to your intuition, and know you're not alone. I love you guys so much, and I'll see you in the next one. Bye!