August 2021 - The Distance Learner

7 ways distance learners can be independent despite living with their parents

Many distance learners live with their parents throughout the course of their college years. According to 2020 research from the Pew Research Center, 52% of 18- to 29-year olds live with their parents.

But we all know the main danger of living too long with your parents: You can end up continually dependent on them. It’s called failure to launch.

The truth, however, is that just because you live with your parents doesn’t mean you can’t have some degree of independence. For instance, you can prepare for financial independence by saving money now for purchases later down the line, such as a down payment on a house.

As a distance learner, you are responsible for developing into an independent adult as much as you’re responsible for attaining a degree. It’s hard work, but you can do it with some effort!

If you’re concerned about not being an independent adult once you get your degree, here are some tips on what you can do. You’ve likely done or are doing one or more of these, but I hope they’ll serve as general guidelines to follow towards your path of independence.

1. Clean up after yourself

In my experience, most folks don’t live alone once they move out of their parents’ home. Having a roommate is a cost-effective way to live when you’re finished with school. And your roommate (especially if this is your spouse) probably won’t appreciate having to clean up after you.

So, if you haven’t already, get into the habit of cleaning up around your parent’s home. This starts by doing your own laundry, cleaning any dishes you use, and cleaning your room more than once a year.

In short, just because you’re a distance learner doesn’t mean you need to live in squalor.

2. Open a bank account if you don’t have one

Even if you don’t have much money, consider opening a bank account (if you don’t already have one). Getting comfortable having your money in a bank, using a credit or debit card, and paying bills with your own account will prepare you for financial independence.

Plus, if your distance learning courses involve finances, you’ll likely have a greater understanding of the material by virtue of having your own bank account.

3. Have your own social life

Independence doesn’t mean you don’t rely on people—you just don’t rely on your parents as much. Personally, I relied a lot on my friends after college.

You don’t need to have a group of 20 friends you regularly see, but it’s wise to have at least one. Distance learning can be stressful and having one or more friends that you enjoy being around can help ease the pressure.

Volunteering or joining a city league sports team can put you in a position to make new friends. If your family normally attends church, try attending a church they don’t go to.

Build your own social network, so you can learn how to interact with a variety of people before you finish your distance learning education.

4. Learn stuff you’re not required to learn

As a distance learner, you’re probably reading a lot of books for school. Because of this, it can be tempting to avoid learning beyond your courses. But often, the best independent adults are lifelong learners.

Pick a subject that you want to learn more about that you can explore outside of your courses. That could include pottery, woodworking, the ins-and-outs of baseball—whatever strikes your fancy.

I think you’ll find learning can be a lot of fun, especially when you’re not being graded on what you know.

5. Do hard things

Stepping out of your comfort zone is one of the most difficult things independent adults must do, but it is absolutely mandatory. Yes, being a distance learner means you’re going to have to work hard in school. But doing hard things goes beyond that—it’s about embracing the tough tasks in life.

Life will often give you more responsibilities and require more of you as you age. So, getting used to doing difficult tasks will help better prepare you for life as an independent adult.

6. Take care of your health

Speaking of doing hard things, it’s important you take care of your health. This means eating well, avoiding foods that are terrible for you, and exercising regularly. In addition to getting stronger, exercise strengthens your brain, so you can do better as a distance learner.

It’s not easy but getting in control of your health will help boost your confidence, which is good for all independent adults to have.

7. Have an exit strategy

When do you plan to move out of your parents’ house? Is it after you finish your distance learning, or are you going to wait until your 40? Having an exit strategy bolsters your independence by giving you a goal to shoot for. It also, in effect, sets a timer for when you’re going to move out on your own.

Wrapping up

Living with one or more of your parents doesn’t mean you can’t have a degree of independence. Simple daily activities—such as exercising, cleaning, and learning for fun—are all ways you can prepare for life after school. Practicing these tips won’t necessarily be easy, but they will help you develop into an independent, mature adult.

7 ways to ruin your distance learning experience

As a remote learner, you’ve probably read a lot about how you can get the most out of your distance ed for college experience. There is no shortage of info out there. But while you’ll find plenty of to do’s, what about the do nots?

To change things up and have some fun, we decided to explore the most effective ways to ruin your time as a distance learner. If you’re set on sabotaging your chances for a productive and meaningful time as a student, this post is for you! We hope to give you the best advice on how to be the worst student (and all-around person) as possible.

So, if you’re interested in getting the least out of your distance learning experience, follow these steps. You’ll be amazed at how much worse your learning experience becomes after you’ve tried one or more of these.

(A heads up: If you haven’t guessed by now, this blog post is tongue-in-cheek so take what we recommend with a grain of salt—or two!)

1. Refuse to grow

A great way to ruin your time as a distance learner is by not pushing yourself. Growing will only help improve your time in school, and that’s not what this post is about. So, crank up your ego to 11, tell others you’re “too good to grow,” and stay stagnant!

2. Take only easy classes

To be the best at not growing, take only classes that are easy. Even if you don’t care about the subject. If it’s easy, take it. You’re likely to grow very little, if at all, which will make your distance learning experience all the worse.

3. Don’t have a plan

Not having a plan for which degree you want to pursue will make it easier to take whatever breezy course you’d like—even if they are required for majors that have nothing to do with one another.

Distance learners who want to ruin their experience should never email, call, or otherwise speak to a college counselor. Having a plan will only enrich your time in school, so avoid having one.

4. Don’t ask questions

To have an awful time in school, you’ll want to consider yourself too smart to ask your professors any questions. Questions mean you’re pushing your brain to think and can put you in danger of growing.

For the worst distance learning experience possible, avoid any chat features and refuse to email your professors with your questions.

5. Complain often

Distance learners who refuse to complain are going to enjoy themselves much more. If you don’t want to be like them, and you want to make yourself and others around you miserable, be sure to complain.

But you may think, “Even other distance learners who enjoy their experience complain from time to time.” That’s right, which is why it’s important that you complain much more often than them. Shoot for complaining at least once every 10 minutes throughout the day.

Complain about the most mundane things, like how boring it is to watch lectures. Say stuff like “You’re not getting the real college experience” as a distance learner. Or, better yet, complain about how no one has invented holographic learning technology (having that would make watching lectures a lot less boring). Stuff like that.

6. If you don’t have a job while in school, be sure not to take many classes

If the only work you’re doing is distance learning, we normally say you should have a full schedule of classes—12 to 15 credit hours, equal to roughly four or five courses.

But you want to ruin your distance learning experience, right? So, to do that, we recommend taking only one or two courses per semester. This will lengthen the time it takes to get your degree, so you’ll have more time to truly ruin your experience.

7. Avoid a social life

Friends can often inspire you to grow, so it’s best to avoid any. Having friends in your life can make it difficult to sulk and be miserable. After all, you don’t want to risk someone correcting you after you’ve expressed your God-given right to complain about everything related to distance learning. Suffering through your time as a distance learner is most effectively done alone.

Bonus tip: Never visit this site again

We post too much information about how to get the most out of your distance learning experience. So, if you’re hoping to do the opposite, don’t come here. You’ll only be tempted to enjoy your distance learning experience.