Are you currently a college student, and if so is Nico with you in a dorm? I ask because we frequently have younger members confronted with the prospect of college and potential separation from their bird(s).
Yes, I am just about to start my third year at college.
>Living situation: Nico and I are absolutely not in a dorm, I lived in a dorm my freshman year and that is no place for a bird (I had a roommate, grimy room, plenty of germs, and people yelling up and down the hallways constantly). I waited until the last quarter of my sophomore year to consider getting a bird. I am lucky enough to be living in a students-only apartment building where I have my own room and decently thick walls. I know I will be living in this apartment for at least another year, and if/when I move I will always be in a place where I have my own room.
>Daily life: Due to pretty debilitating anxiety I usually take a slightly lighter than average course load, and take courses in the summer as well to make up for it. I'm definitely not the partying type and I'm kind of a homebody, so as a college student I think I spend a lot more time with Nico than a high school student or a working professional would. I take around 4 hours of classes a day, and I have club activities (3-ish hours) twice a week, but other than that I'm almost always home and my friends enjoy Nico's company so evenings are often spent at friends' houses. My family is well-off enough that my parents help pay for my time at college and for Nico's needs, and right now they don't expect me to maintain a job outside of school for money and want me to focus on studying. I do have a later bedtime than most would recommend (lights are dimmed at 10-11pm, I myself go to bed at half past midnight usually) but Nico is an extraordinarily resilient bird who will fall asleep wherever and whenever (he's fallen asleep at a karaoke night!) and I do have the room darkened and quiet at least 12 hours a day so I don't really worry about him not getting enough sleep.
>Future plans: I am going into Special Education, which means my teaching certificate will only allow me to be in Washington State for the foreseeable future. I plan to work in the Puget Sound area, so Nico and I will be taking a 2 hour drive if that works out.
>Separation: Unlike many of the kids on this forum who assure people that they are going to be at a college close by, I live two states away from my parents and I see them four times a year (Thanksgiving, winter break, spring break, and a couple of weeks during the summer). Instead of the typical "young owner is away at college so the parents take care of the bird" I have the "Nico is part of my college life, my parents have never met my bird in person, and I must find him accommodations when I go to see them" situation. Last time I went away Nico stayed with one of my close friends, but since I always take a short plane ride to my parents' place (2 hours) right now I'm hoping to get Nico an ESA certification by my college's student health center so I can take him with me (my parents have a decent-sized bird cage ready for if that happens) for Thanksgiving. My plan B would be to have him board in a place I found in Seattle, but I'd have to get blood work done for him to do that and my vet recommended I try not to do that when he's so young.
Nico is a well-adjusted bird, which helps immensely. He's okay with reasonable amounts of noise, being in a travel cage and/or flight suit, new people and places, etc etc. He also only really screams when he's hungry (I swear he always eats like he's never seen food before) or when I leave the room ("come back Mommy!"). And of course he sleeps whenever and wherever he feels like it, no matter how loud or bright the surroundings are. He is kind of nippy sometimes, especially since he's been molting lately, but I'd say he's pretty good with people. He hasn't gone through puberty yet though, so fingers crossed!
