Ridiculous things college kids call their parents about!!
Laundry!
For most students this is your first time ever doing laundry and you never thought there was more to it than just adding soap and water. Nope! Instead you must know which certain fabrics cannot be washed/ dried a certain way. As if getting the clothes clean wasn’t bad enough, drying them in 10x worse. It’s like we’ve discovered that cotton shrinks for the very first time and just gave ourselves a toddler’s wardrobe. And forget stains. We are not equipped to deal with stains. Just toss it. How did our parents make this look so easy?
Financial Stress.
Receiving emails that make your heart stop. FAFSA applications are due or your tuition bill is due at this date and time. Who do I send it to and how? Whats your social security number? That’s 9 digits right? What’s worse than this? Losing your debit card. How do I cancel it, and how do i get a new one. Probably a good time to call the parents. They have years of experience- they know best.
Should I Go To the Doctor?
This call could happen for a whole plethora of reasons: I haven’t really felt hungry for a few weeks…is that bad? My back has been so sore that I haven’t been able to walk. It feels fine if I don’t move, though; should I get that checked out? Or my personal favorite, sending pictures of impressive wounds to determine if they are worthy of stitches. You try so hard to be an independent adult, but at the end of the day, you just don’t want to schedule that appointment. It’s scary.
Money.
Don’t have a job? Summer money all gone? You probably thought you would never be calling your parents this much but you are. You hate to ask but your bank account is only showing zeros. Don’t worry they’ll understand. We have all had that moment where we need just a couple more dollars to get through the week- and as broke college kids- we need that cushion of support.
Appointments.
Beep Beep. Alarm goes off. 15 missed phone calls. AAW MAN-forgot my doctors appointment, breakfast date, AND to go to class! I am pretty sure I had a better sense of time when my mom told me my schedule before I went to school in the morning! Things were so much easier. Wait, what is a planner? Sometimes you just need to call your parents and run through your schedule. Feels like home.
GOOD FOOD AKA HOME COOKED MEALS.
You have got to be kidding. Bad meatloaf and turkey dinner AGAIN. As if the cafeteria food could be any better than sub par, EVER. Home is where the homemade lasagna is. Every now and then you’ve got to check in with mom and dad and schedule some time at home, strictly for your stomach.
GPA.
I’m not going to make it. Midterms? Finals? I’m not ready for this. How did I only get a 60? I studied so much. Besides my daily grades are all 100 so I should pass. WRONG. Remember all those nights in High School your parents asked If you had any homework- and then wouldn’t let you do anything else until it was presented in front of them? Or when you had a test and they made you give them the review as they asked every question a bazillion times? So annoying right? Well, In college, you no longer have someone making you do your homework, now you have to study on your own AND know when you can socialize. Sure would be nice to have that little push again. I would take ‘annoying’ over ‘stressing’. Cue the call to mom and dad so they can reassure you that you will not fail!
What to do with our lives?
Being told you need to declare a major or being asked what you want to do with your life is never easy. Business, Nursing, Communications, Journalism, Psychology? What’s a Resume? Internships? Job after college? Who really knows.
Being on your own for the first time can be tough and these things may happen to you! Here’s my advice. Call the people that have been by your side all along. They will know the right words to say and the right things to do. Everything will be fine!