Awkwardness is when there's a risk of a perception gap between what you mean and what you appear to mean.

Once given, a gift is yours to use, store or dispose of as you see fit.

If you are being shuffled around, then you should feel shuffled around.

You need to make plans for your future, so plan your own future.

There's nothing wrong with being happy somewhere, even if it's the little pond you grew up in, as long as you are in fact comfortable vs. bored.

If you're not sure what you want, then hold back from making plans or responding to invitations until you have a chance to think about it.

Waiting for someone to propose to you only passes the "Really, it's tradition!" sniff test when both of you think it's the man's job to propose and both of you think that's awesome.