Things to do with your family at college

By: Sofia Dajer

Are your parents visiting you at college? Here are some activities that you could do with them:

Have a campus tour:

Show them around! Parents love when they see how their daughter is living, the new friends that she has, the facilities where she studies and spends her time, and much more. It is a nice experience for them to see your new lifestyle and to see the progress of how independent you have become since you moved out for college. Introduce them to your favorite places on campus, and have lunch where you normally have it. Believe me, the fact that you are including them in your own world will make them feel special.

Introduce them to your friends:

I don’t know about you but in my case, my parents (especially my dad) always forget the names of my friends, or they find it hard to assimilate faces to names to experiences. Because of this, I have always preferred for my parents to meet my friends personally, and the first time they visited me at college they did. I went out to dinner with them and with some of my friends, they all got to know each other and we had a really good time. It was nice seeing how both of my worlds connected with each other. However, there are more casual plans to make, going to the mall with friends, meeting them on campus, and more. The idea is to at least introduce them and have a small conversation with both parties. 

Show them the area where you live:

This one relates to the previous recommendation of touring them throughout your campus, but showing the location where you live is also a great plan to do with your parents. Grab some dinner at your favorite restaurants, go bowling, and much more! In Boca Raton, i’ve taken them to the all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurant known as Ichiyami, to an Italian restaurant called Louie Bossi’s, to El Patio Spanish restaurant, and much more. These are some of my favorite places to eat with my friends and I was glad that my parents enjoyed them too.

In the end, even though you feel comfortable with your parents, you are still the host of their visit, for which it is better for you to make them feel at home and reassure them that everything is going well. For some it can be stressful to combine both worlds, but cherish this time with them, as to how you are not always going to have it at college. 

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