Describe a phase in life that was difficult to say goodbye to.

When I left school all those years ago I remember feeling like I was falling off a cliff. Hard to change my life.

Everything had been about learning, getting up every day, going to classes, coming home, doing homework. Trying to make the switch to ‘real life’ was a shock. I knew the times I worked would be different, but I got a couple of part time jobs cleaning and waitressing so I was not free to enjoy weekends or evenings anymore. This got worse as I went to college in the following autumn so I was trying to fit in my college work and my jobs and trying to get some work life balance.

I managed the change in my life OK after a few months but strangely it was hard to say goodbye to. I was still with my family and friends. The next year I left home. That was the real shock to my system.