Growing up, your parents share a bunch of do’s and dont’s for life. Parenting is a hard job and they try their hardest to steer you clear of danger and trouble. They typically have to play the trial and error game to figure things out themselves. As I have gotten older, I’ve learned there are a few things that they didn’t share with me that I wish they would have.
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1. College is hard
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Okay, so they never told me that it would easy, but they definitely did not tell me it would be one of the most trying times of my life. While college has been a great experience and opened many doors for me, it has been far from easy. There have been many sleepless nights and days when I have questioned my existence on earth.
2. Once you grow up, you can’t go back.
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We spend our childhood wishing we were older so that we can do “grown-up” things. Personally, I couldn’t wait to go to college, have my own place, and just be on my own. If I could go back to having no responsibilities, I would. Once you start doing grown-up things, you have grown-up consequences and those are no fun.
3. You’ll need your parents before they will need you.
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This may sound a little confusing as we have relied on them for most of our existence but I never thought I would need my parents as much as I have. I thought that I would come to college and have everything figured out. I was wrong. I can’t even count how many times I have called my parents crying because I got knocked down and needed help getting up.
4. Your parents will always love you.
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Growing up is hard and there are a lot of mistakes that will be made. While you may think that your life is over and that your parents are going to kill you, they eventually will get over it. They may hold it over your head a little but no matter what, they will love you.
5. Not everyone was raised the same.
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Being in college and living on campus, you are exposed to all kinds of people. You quickly learn that what you are accustomed to is completely different than what your roommate or friend is used to. People have different living habits and even different ideas of what friendship really is. I unfortunately learned that the hard way but over time I got used to it.
My parents did an amazing job raising me. They made sure to always allow me to be my own person and taught me how to be comfortable with just that. Life is just a difficult process that no one is ever prepared for no matter how much coaching you receive.