If everyone had broomsticks and could fly home or to their safe space anytime they wanted, I wouldn’t need to write this post at all.

Kiki’s Delivery Service is a Studio Ghibli film (like Totoro) about a 13-year-old witch-in-training who leaves home to find a new place to settle in, gaining her stature as a witch and becoming independent. Plus, it also has some of the best soundtracks of all Studio Ghibli movies (look up: On a Clear Day, Departure, and A Town with an Ocean View).

You may recognize her iconic blue dress, red ribbon headband, and adorable cat companion Jiji redefining witches in cute anime styles, rather than green themes with large wart-covered noses.

Kiki flies on her broomstick in search of a new place and lands in a town with an ocean view. She gets taken in by a sweet couple that owns a bakery and pays her dues by helping out at the shop while also starting a delivery service (which is her niche since she’s the only person who can fly).

As Kiki gets more settled in, she starts to doubt herself after some disappointing deliveries and feeling judged as an outsider. This results in her waking up one day realizing she’s lost her witch powers and ability to talk to Jiji.

There’s a whole scene relating Kiki’s loss of power to a creativity block artists often run into. However, my take here is that the root cause is from her feeling small and a lack of belonging.

At the end of the movie, Kiki eventually finds herself, and thus her witch powers, after helping an endearing obaachan (anime for grandma) and saving her friend from falling to his peril. She not only finds her confidence, but also place for herself in the town.

The Life Lesson

There’s two pieces I want to address in this life lesson here. The first is about relocation anxiety of moving to a new place, especially for many young adults who have no choice. The second is about taking that first step to leave the comfort of home and become independent.

Relocation anxiety is tough. It’s the anxiousness that comes with the moving stress and being in a completely new area AND home. Going somewhere new is exciting but can also be scary. When you aren’t comfortable with the people, streets, culture, or even the layout of where you’re staying at, it’s tough. Nobody likes looking like a tourist or outsider when they travel, let alone looking like one when they live there!

The good thing is, like many other things, time helps! You don’t need to save someone’s life in order to feel like you belong. Find your favorite coffee shop to study at and make small talk with your barista. Join a local church or dance group. Walk around. Volunteer. The more you immerse yourself in a new place, the faster you’ll feel comfortable, confident, and like you belong. It also helps to decorate the place you come back to each night and make it homey.

Now for those of you who are fortunate enough to be able to live at home, want to move out, and are on the fence about taking that step, I have some perspective for you.

First, I want to acknowledge that it is a privilege to even have the choice to live at home and I don’t think enough of us realize that and end up taking things for granted, especially here in the California Bay Area.

You’ve all seen the meme—live at home and be financially stable, or move out and improve your mental health. I struggled with this decision a lot, especially living in a high priced area. And yes there are a TON of factors like: your income, rent prices in the area, if you want housemates, pressure from parents, etc.

I’m not gonna go into deep financial advice, but I did contemplate saving up for a house vs. renting, which I know a lot of parents push on my peers to save since “renting is throw-away money”. My advice here is to do your research (hint: learn about opportunity costs). It’s not as black and white as people make it seem like. I used to think owning a house was the American dream showing you’re successful…yeah, no that’s dumb.

In the end, I chose my mental health and the potential to fix my relationship with not only myself, but also some of the toxicity with my family. I don’t regret it all. The amount of growth, confidence, and just what I’ve learned about myself is worth it. Not to mention, having my own personal safe space allowed me to strengthen my familial bonds, making me feel comfortable enough if I ever did choose to live back at home for a bit.

I’m putting it out there—I was scared at first. It can be lonely living in a new place or even alone. It is stressful having to cook, clean, and run errands on top of a full time job. It’s the first step in the world of adult responsibilities, but it can be so rewarding and empowering. Having more work sounds bothersome, but I believe it puts the control in your hands. That empowerment actually leads to a more confident mindset and happiness overall. You may spend some weekends just running errands, but you’ll walk out your door thinking “I’m self sufficient and killing it. Go me!”

So I say let your control freak flag fly! (I dare you to say that 5 times fast.) Plus, now you can hold parties! Just be sure to give your neighbors a heads up because dealing with shitty neighbors needs another whole post for itself…