Moms felt hard to deal with in high school. Of course I love my mom, but I don’t think I always showed my appreciation for her while growing up. It’s normal to bicker daily or disagree on all things generational (“Mom, it’s called ‘fashion!!’”) I can say confidently that it wasn’t until college that I realized I took her ever-presence and (at times, annoying) overprotectiveness for granted.
Here are seven ways that going off to college made me appreciate my mom more:
1. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. I may have only moved ten minutes away from home, but that ten minutes made a world of difference. Now that I had my own space and a level of independence I had never experienced before, I was surprised to realize I actually missed my mom!
2. For those especially tough weekends before finals or when I had the flu (or maybe just do my three tons of laundry), I was fortunate to be close enough to home that I could relax and enjoy a real home-cooked meal for the first time in months. It may surprise you, but there’s a big difference between a can of microwaved soup and your mom’s chicken noodle soup! It might just be the fact it was made by my mom, but I swear it tastes better.
3. Some people say in this day and age that phone calls are dead, and everyone just texts. Not the case with most moms! If I have a good day and feel like sharing it, I can always count on my mom to share my excitement. Get in a fight with my roommate? She’s there to (usually) take my side.
4. So far in most of my college courses I’ve gotten A’s or B’s. As a junior now, you would think acing a test or getting an A on a paper might not be as exciting as it used to be, but you’re wrong, at least in my case. My friends might not get as excited as I do, but I still send my mom a photo of every A I get and she’s always there to reciprocate my happiness.
5. That being said, she’s also there with words of wisdom when there’s that one test that you totally forgot to study for because there was a new episode of American Horror Story. Being in college now, I’m an adult and my mom knows that, but talking to her about the tough parts of college life still makes me feel better.
6. Most college students know the struggle is real financially. We embrace our “brokenness” and love for Ramen most of the time, but sometimes you need a break from the same-old. Now that I’m older it’s the little things that make my day, especially when my mom takes me to lunch or the rare mom-sponsored grocery run. Just an hour or two of talking (or venting) about life and not worrying about anything makes me feel 20 pounds lighter.
7. College has been the best time of my life so far, but I found out pretty quick that being an adult is hard. Sometimes you just need a hug from the person that will always be there for you: your mom!