Hi Lea2,

The experience of having to manage your own household, however small it may be, can teach you a lot.

On the other hand, I think all your concerns are very valid. I'm not sure that every young adult necessarily should move out of their parents home.

In my case, there was so much emotional turmoil in my family's home that I was absolutely desperate to get out of there to any hole in the wall I could find. It was terribly lonely for me in my own place, at times, but I felt I'ld rather be lonely there than back in the middle of bitterness and strife.

I think being alone and not around people who are caring is actually unnatural for human beings. Once I took an anthropology course on India, and learned that, to many women in India, it would seem highly unnatural to sleep in a room completely alone. Typically, in some parts of India, at least, it was traditional for women and children to sleep communally in a room together, while menfolk did the same in another nearby living structure. Someone from Kenya told me that is the way he grew up, also. As he described it, boys sleep near the women folk and girls until a certain age. Then they move to another structure, nearby, where brothers and male cousins share a sleeping space.

I suspect that you are uttering what is, actually, the normal way for humans to feel. Also, I think your observation about people jumping into relationships too quickly, possibly to escape loneliness, is very astute.

Might you think about joining with some others of your own age and gender to share a place and be supportive of each other? I really do think that can be an ideal experience for a young adult. I did it and really enjoyed it - while it lasted. The problem is finding the right roommates. That can be really, really hard.