In the weeks prior to my big move to Ohio, many of the adults in my life said: “You won’t appreciate your parents ‘til you finally live on your own.” It took me until my second semester of college to realize the truth in their statements. My level of appreciation for my parents extends far beyond that of the average college student’s appreciation for their mom and dad because I recognized, after taking a step back, that in every moment of my life, I was always their number one priority. So, here’s to you mom and dad: thank you for being the reason I have accomplished all of my wildest dreams.Every time I come home on break, without fail, someone still congratulates me on getting into Kenyon. They say how proud they are of me and how I ended up being a great kid. However, the ones who should be praised are my parents. I got into a school with a 23% acceptance rate, and I’m not going to deny that I worked my butt off to get where I ended up.
But I would have never gotten in to Kenyon without my parents. Since the time I can recall setting my first goal, at four years old, they were always there to support me. Unlike most parents, they never shrugged off my dreams. Whenever I would tell people that I wanted to go to an ivy league school at four years old, the common response was, “Well good luck with that one sweetie.” However, my parents never once told me that my dreams were impossible. Instead, they chose to devote their lives to making sure my dreams come true. I never asked for them to do this, they did it on their own. They allowed for the sky to be the limit for me, and they never taught me the meaning of the world impossible.
Throughout high school, my parents were constantly on the road to take me to recruiting events or on college tours. Many birthdays and holidays they spent with me, away from their friends and the rest of our family. On top of this, they put in numerous hours of planning into each of these many trips. Never once did they complain or make me feel as if I was a burden on their life. I believe that I was so gung-ho about my dreams because they allowed for me to be naïve to their selflessness. I have the utmost respect for both of them because of this.
It isn’t cheap having a child go through the recruiting process, let alone a child who was looking at some of the hardest schools in the country. They weren’t able to do all of the things that they wanted to do because they had a full plate financially. They took on extra jobs outside of their work in order to pay for private field hockey lessons and multiple ACT/SAT prep courses to make me a better candidate for college and recruiting. I couldn’t quite get it right the first time with both the ACT and SAT, but they never got angry because they had to work even more in order to dish out more money for two additional prep courses. They saw my frustration and the hours of work I put in, and once more continued to work their butts off so that I could obtain the resources that I needed in order to reach my goals. Even in my high school courses, they paid for tutors. It is not easy paying for someone to meet with your child privately multiple times a week, but they made it happen.
None of these financial burdens ever mattered to them because they were happy as long as I was. They sacrificed so that I would be able to have the resources to make my dreams come true. We were a team with a goal in mind. That goal being for me to go to my dream school and to, as a result, have the resources to make all of my other goals come true.On top of the financial burden and the large time commitment that I was throughout my high school years, my parents still managed to share the stress and emotions that I felt. For every disappointment that I encountered in the process, they grieved with me. I wasn’t alone in this process. This journey we embarked on was just as much my journey as it was theirs.
This article will never be able to explain the amount of appreciation I have for both of my parents. One article simply isn’t enough to cover all of the things that they’ve done that I’m thankful for. Next time you want to tell me that you’re proud of me, please tell them instead. They have always contributed to half of anything that I’ve accomplished. You don’t end up at a baby ivy on your own. Thank you mom and dad for being on this 18 year-long life journey with me. I know that I am nowhere close to the perfect kid, but thank you for loving me just as much for my imperfections. We may not always agree on everything, but I will always agree that I am where I am today, 560 miles away, because of the both of you.
I love you both more than anything,
Margo (pudding)
Image Credit: Margo Minor