Family, friends and first interactions since High School

If you are a student leaving home to attend university, typical freshman experiences follow in a very distinct order. We go through the crazy premeditation of raving thoughts and playing various situations in our minds of what our first semester will be like. “Will I make friends?”, “How can I meet people?”, “What will 101 Week be like?”, “Will I join clubs?”, “Did I pick the right major?”. These are the thoughts that swarm like thousands of wasps in a nest that is your endless questions and thoughts. Then, reassured by the success of your first week or so of school, you try to continue meeting new people as well as start to worry about grades. With what seems like the endless cycle of midterm after midterm, essay after essay, lab after lab and weekends you cannot remember, you may or may not have realized that you left friends and loved ones behind at home.  

After all the chaos has diminished and the air has cleared you find yourself on a bus/train/plane back home to spend your summer with the people you spent everyday with in high school, and family members you ate dinner with every night. Given how busy everyone was with exams, you may have not thought of how this coming home situation might work out. New relationships have been formed with a new group of friends in Ottawa. Possibly new interests have been discovered given the variety of resources, clubs and social groups that are available here at school that you perhaps have taken part in. You have learned new things that have changed your perception on so many topics. As well as had to become more independent living on your own since early September. Sure, you may be the same person you always were but you cannot deny that things have changed. How will that work out when you go back home with your new experiences and ideas?

Seeing your friends and family for the first time since the summer can be an interesting experience. The physical distance can cause a separation in your relationships. Inside jokes may be forgotten and family traditions can seem foreign. You have been without Mom, Dad or your guardian telling you what to do everyday for the last couple of months. Sure, it was annoying when you were living at home but imagine the authority your parents resume when you get back home after months of glorious independence! The truth is that it may be a struggle getting back into the home life routine again. So let the interrogations begin!

Friends have also had the same self defining experiences you have and things between you will be different. The trick is to go back home with this in mind. When you find yourself without anything to talk about, talk about the experiences you’ve had so maybe they can get to know the new or/and improved you. Try to remember why you were friends to begin with and maybe the awkward moments will decrease. Do things you used to do with them when you are home that will bring some ‘normality’ to your friendship. It can be as simple as driving around town blasting music, playing cards, going to see a movie or ice-skating. There may be that awkward moment where you realize that each other have changed but there are always ways to move past it. 

Seeing your family for holidays might feel a bit odd at first. In your parents eyes you will always be their little girl who they take care of and protect. Whether you are 18 or 40 this view your parents have will doubtfully change. But you are also a self-sufficient individual that is growing every day. For you and your parents to live in harmony, you both have to have a mutual respect for one another. Yes, they are your parents and that will never change, but you have also learned more about adulthood and some valuable lessons in your first semester.

Put aside the awkward moments, you are ultimately home to enjoy yourself! Have fun on your holiday and confide in the fact that there is no school work till the new year! Take what you have gained from your first semester, along with your possible different perception on many things and apply them while your home. Share your adventures that everyone is dying to hear. And though things may have changed in the past months, some things will always stay the same.

Photo Credits:

http://www.teach4real.com/2010/05/23/blame-the-parents-i-do/

http://fr.123rf.com/photo_3949…

• family
• friends
• holidays