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5 Reasons Why Parents Weekend is the BEST Weekend

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Jessie Taylor
Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Rachael David
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at PSU chapter.

For Penn Staters, there are so many great weekends during the year that it can be hard to really choose the best.  Well, I’ve made my decision. Here are five reasons why nothing compares to Parents Weekend:

1. Seeing your parents drunk

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen my dad drink beer and my mom drink a glass of champagne at a wedding or two, but Parents Weekend was the first time I’ve ever seen them drunk. And let me tell you, it was pretty much the best sight ever.

2. Watching your best friends and parents feel the love

Naturally, your parents and best friends know of each other. So the fact that they finally met after hearing so many stories about each other and even ended up taking selfies, dancing, and laughing together all night had me smiling ear to ear. I mean, really. Who doesn’t love seeing all their favorite people together in one place?

3. Your parents are college students for the night

My parents went through all the motions that most college students go through every weeknight. We pregamed, ventured through Frat Land, danced on elevated surfaces and even ordered drunk food when the night was over. Even if my parents weren’t here, the night wouldn’t have been any different. It may be called “Parents Weekend,” but no one acts like a parent at all during this weekend – and it’s awesome.

4. NO DRAMA

As much fun as Penn State nights are, there are plenty of opportunities for drama to arise. For instance, you never know what some creep might yell to you when you’re walking down the street. But who needs pepper spray when you have your strong, tall daddy by your side? Seriously, boys don’t even dare to look at you, and it’s surprisingly refreshing. My dad even broke up a fight between two random guys. I mean, not like I’m bragging or anything (I totally am). On top of that, you don’t have worry about boys trying to creepily dance with you or having petty fights with your best friends. You literally drink and dance with your parents all night long, and with your parents by your side, you can take on the world…or Frat Land.

5. The realization that we are our parents’ children

As my mom and I were cracking jokes with one another all night and I was having a dance-off with my dad, I had an “aha” moment. As much as we all try to fight it at times, there is no denying that we are exactly like our parents. And I’m figuring out that as I get older not only am I turning into them, but I also aspire to be more like them.

Parents Weekend is by far one of my favorite weekends here at Penn State. I know that it is a bold statement coming from a Penn Stater, but I stand by it 100%. I am counting down the days until the next Parents Weekend because, even though partying with them is a major part of the experience, this weekend serves as a reminder to love and make sure to have fun with our parents above all things. Contrary to popular belief, they really aren’t so different from us after all. They are people that genuinely have our back any  weekend of the year, and we must never forget that.

Until next Parents Weekend,

HCXO

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Jessie is a Pennsylvania State University alumna. During Jessie's time at Her Campus at Penn State, she served as the vice president/head editor, social media chairwoman and a contributing writer. Aside from Her Campus, Jessie is a founding sister of the sorority ΦΣΣ: Beta Eta chapter and served as a business team member and social media chairwoman for the Penn State yearbook, La Vie. In her free time, Jessie indulges in her guilty pleasure, "The Bachelor" and enjoys a healthy feminist rant while aiming to destroy the patriarchy one female empowerment article at a time.
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Rachael David is currently a senior at Penn State University and serves as the Campus Correspondent for Her Campus Penn State. She is majoring in public relations and minoring in psychology. Her love of creative writing and all things Penn State is what inspired her to become a member of the HC team in the fall of 2013. Her background experience includes working for the Undergraduate Admissions Office at Penn State as a social media intern in the spring of 2014 and is currently working as a social media intern for an internet marketing company in Harrisburg called WebpageFX. This past summer she also served as a PR intern for Tierney Communications. Rachael enjoys anything media related especially catching up on her favorite shows, including Saturday Night Live and any show on Food Network. She has a passion for food but also loves being active and spending her free time running or hiking. She hopes to gain more experience in all aspects of the media industry during college and plans on pursuing a career writing for a life & style publication in the future.