It must be an amazing experience to throw on a pair of sweats after a night out until 3 a.m. and binge watch Netflix until 6 p.m. It must be marvelous to have to only worry about the classes you are enrolled in, a campus job, sport, and what bar you are going to that night.
I do envy those who go away to college, but don’t you dare say that staying home makes me less of an adult.Â
While you are nursing a hangover, I am getting up early, hitting the gym, sitting in traffic on my way to school, staying at school for five hours, going to a meeting for an extracurricular that I am in, sitting in traffic again, working for four hours, going home at night, eating quickly, cleaning my room/house/whatever my mother asks, doing my homework until midnight maybe later, and finally going to bed. I get approximately five hours of sleep, only to do it all again the next day.
I applaud those who go away and become independent, but for the ignorant ones who just sleep, go to school, and drink, you are NOT an adult just because you live with your parents for three out of twelve months of the year. I am not hating on anyone who goes away to school, I just cannot stand hearing that living with my parents makes me a child. Would a child make the decision to save thousands for undergraduate so they can spend more money on graduate school and their degree?Â
I can understand how people who go away think my curfew is lame but, hey, it is my parents’ house. That means their house; their rules. If you think any parent will tolerate an “adult” stumbling through the door at three in the morning then you are in for a rude awakening.
It is difficult to be a “fun” college student when being a commuter. I can speak for myself when I say that my mission when I get to school (after agonizing traffic on the Southern State Parkway) is to get in and get out. It is not that I am an unfriendly person, but it is easier to get learning over with and continue onto the laundry list of errands that I have to complete before I go home. I have friends on campus, but because nearly all of us are commuters, we do not have the liberty of walking to the neighboring dormitory and visiting them. I hail from Massapequa and some of my friends at school are either from the next town over or as far as Queens. In addition to geography being a hurdle, we all have jobs and other responsibilities, so it is difficult to have close friends when attending a commuter college.
Going away to school is something I plan to do for graduate school and I am excited. I want fun experiences and to explore some place new. I feel that my “adulting” that I have done at home has better prepared me for it. Now I know that I can handle school, a job, extracurriculars and personal responsibilities, I am confident that I am and will grow more as a successful adult. I think that the people who go away and better themselves are great, and this article is not intended to hate on you at all. But for the ones that use going away as an excuse to go out all night and do nothing for the months that you are away at school, you have absolutely no right to call me a child for staying home. Take on my responsibilities before you criticize me.