5 Things I Want My Family To Know While I’m Away At School

1. How much I miss them:

When you come to visit it may seem like I’m really happy with my friends (which I am), but I secretly get really excited before you come. There is truly no feeling like finally reuniting with the people you grew up with, especially when this is the longest you’ve ever been away from them. I might not call every week but I think about you more than you may think.

P.S. Your calendars better be marked for all my breaks

2. It’s the little things:

In the short time that I have been away at college, I have learned a lot both inside and outside the classroom. A lot of what I have learned has been through the little things in life. Sometimes I think about the little things from back home and I simply miss them. I miss home cooking. I miss watching movies with the family. Surprisingly,(deep deep down) I miss the nagging. I miss continuously being told to do my homework, make my bed, or clean my room. Sure, I probably screamed a few times here and there telling my mom, “I know!” Or, “I’ll do it soon!” but now having no one to yell at and no one to yell at me just seems plain weird. I no longer have siblings making fun of me or calling me annoying nicknames. Sure I may have friends that have found silly little things to nag me about or nicknames they’ve decided fit me right, but it’s not the same. And believe it or not, sometimes I miss that. A surprising amount of times I’ve noticed that when I leave my dorm I don’t go running to beg mom to let me go wherever it is that I want to go.  I just go. Once you get to college you realize you miss the little things.

3. I really do appreciate them:

Now instead of hearing people complain about family they complain about not seeing their family. Family truly are the people who will absolutely always be there for me. They are the ones who know the real me. I may not tell them as much as I should, but every little thing that they do for me I really do appreciate. Sometimes it takes the tough times like being away from family to realize how lucky I am to have them. I take this time to say thank you. Thank you for teaching me how to tie my shoe. Thank you for driving me to my friend’s house when all you wanted to do was stay home. Thank you for yelling at me to study when I’m on Facebook. Thank you for telling me no every once in a while. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for making me me.

4. I still care:

While many people may see finally being away from family as the best thing to ever happen, others (including myself) don’t necessarily think like that. I really do still care about what is going on back home. Whether the whole family attends a sporting event or a neighbor’s dog dies, heck, if your family just had something really good for dinner you deserve to know. It is important to feel like you are still part of the family (because you are).

5. Growing up is hard (they were right):

Everyone has their awkward stages in life. Most people have one sometime in middle school. While I am no exception, I believe that in some ways the start of college can also be seen as an awkward stage. I am thrown into a new city with new people where I am supposed to decide what I want to do with my life.  For undecided students like me, this is especially difficult. I am now on my own. I am finally growing up and becoming an “adult” and to be honest, I am not totally sure that I always like that. Sure, sometimes being independent can be great. However, it is not always easy. If I get a bad grade or have a fight with a friend, mom and dad aren’t there to see me cry and ask what’s wrong. They’re also not there to see the smile on my face when I receive an A on a test. When I run out of shampoo there’s no mom to ask for money and a ride to go buy more. When my fan breaks or I am unsure of how to work the TV I can’t just run to mom and dad for help. When I am done with classes and have zero motivation to study or do homework, I have no one but myself to yell at me to do my work. I understand that this is all part of life and eventually we all have to grow up and do things on our own. Before college, I was warned that certain things weren’t going to be the same in college or “you are going to have to do that on your own in college.” Well, here I am at college and I have realized that yes, these things are true. However, I have learned that even though it takes time to adjust, I know I will.