College for a lot of us is a time of freedom. You don’t have your parents breathing down your neck, and you don’t have your mom yelling at you to clean your room. It’s also a time when you’re away from everything familiar. In the weeks leading up to move-in day, you might watch move-in day videos or dorm tours like I did religiously, or you might be saying goodbye to your hometown. Everyone’s experience is different, but the emotions are still the same. You tell yourself that you’re not going to cry when your parents leave because you’re not a baby, but let me tell you, THAT’S A LIE.
Maybe you’re one of the tough ones and hold it in like I did, but once they leave, oh man do the waterworks start to come. I didn’t realize how much I would miss my mom until she kissed me goodbye and was on her way. I didn’t want to call her because it was “too soon”, but once I built the courage to call 20 minutes after she left, she picked up in record time.
This seemed like the only time I didn’t hear three rings before the line clicked. I can hear it in her voice before I realized that she had been crying. My mom is a trooper and didn’t let a tear fall in front of me, but she didn’t last long.
As you get settled in, don’t forget to call your parents, especially your mom. This is not only a new chapter for you but for them as well. Remember when you didn’t want to let go on the first day of kindergarten? Yeah, the roles are reversed here. All they want to know is that their baby is safe. So, if they call more than twice in a day, pick up if you’re not extremely busy. If you are, make sure to call them back. I promise that they will appreciate the call and so will you. You might even find yourself calling them more than they call you, and that’s totally cool, I swear.