Well if you’re anything like me, your parents call you at least 4 times a day to ask you what you’re doing. Luckily, as the year progressed they have moved down to three phone calls, if I’m lucky. There’s nothing more difficult then explaining why I have to leave for class 20 minutes early, or why I have little to no friends in my classes because they all contain 250+ people that sit in different places every class. So I thought I’d try and clear some things up.
#1: They may not have gone?
This is probably the biggest one. I mean my dad is very successful and has been supporting me and my sister in everything we do, but he didn’t go to a four-year university. Which makes it semi-okay for him to call every couple hours because he really doesn’t know what I’m doing. Mind you, I think that the fact that our generation has to go to college to be anything more than a manager at Target is a little unfair…don’t you? Literally our parents had the freedom to choose and us? Well not so much. Not that I wouldn’t have chose college anyways, but who doesn’t love a choice.
#2: “Why do you need all that?”
When in the process of preparing for college I may or may not have bought all too many items. For example, I had to have that $150 Tempurpedic pad for the twin bed that I would only use for one year. Oops. I also had to not only order custom canvases but a lantern and a dream catcher and fairy lights. We all did it. I printed out $30 worth of pictures from Walgreen’s… if you don’t know, that’s a lot of pictures considering I only used about 15. I also needed that lamp and that hamper. Those plastic drawers, the vacuum and iron I never use, and so many hangers (but only the skinny velvet ones so I could hang more clothes). But I needed all this things… Pinterst told me so.
But my mom only needed one Cyndi Lauper poster to keep her going…
#3: This campus is HUGE.
My closest class is a fifteen minute walk. I take over 20,000 steps on the average Tu/Th class days and over 15,00 on Mo/We class days. Thanks to my Fit Bit I can throw that stat out there for you. If I were to walk all the way across my campus it could potentially take me 40 minutes. I don’t know why its so hard to understand that leaving for your classes 20 minutes early is NOT weird. It’s not because I don’t want to talk to them (parents) on the phone for my entire life… it’s that I simply don’t want to waste one minute of your money by being late to class. Also, the quickest path to my class might be through University and if I see a REALLY cute top, then I have time to run in and buy it with out being rushed. Campuses have grown since they went to school.
#4: We know they got sick of the dining hall food too!
I get questioned weekly on how much money I spend on food. I don’t even truly understand the questioning because honestly I know our parents got sick of the dining hall food. Who wouldn’t? I am sorry that I have a meal plan full of money that only works at the Union, that I only use once a day. Of course 11 out of 10 days that once a day swipe is at Starbucks… but seriously even the chicken tenders at the Union are gross. That’s a problem. I mean I feel like there should be some gratitude that they raised me right enough to know what good food is. PS. Dad I miss your burgers and Mom I miss your every meal.
#5: “Why don’t you find a study group?”
My life is not a scene from Legally Blonde. I can not just walk into the library with a basket full of muffins and find a table full of people in my exact same class studying for the test. Also, just because there are 250+ kids in my class doesn’t mean that I have 250+ friends in that class. People sit in different places everyday… which frankly irritates me. But the point is I have never once sat next to the same person. Or for that matter even talked to the people next to me because I either have no make up on or they have no make up on. Both signs of not wanting to talk. Our parents think we are so nice and friendly, but just remind them of when they used to have to wake you up in the morning Senior year of high school. Then they might understand why we don’t have friends in any classes before 11am.
Moral of the story is that our parents love us. Inside and out. They just don’t always listen or understand what we are saying when we talk, but that’s just another reason to love them.