INDIANA, PA - Parents of an Indiana University of Pennsylvania student express concern after receiving a call from their student who just "wanted to talk about their day." Parents remained pleasantly surprised but confused as they anxiously awaited for their student to drop the 'I need money' bomb that never came. Parents remain enthusiastic but not hopeful of future such phone calls and have referred to a therapist to see if this is 'normal' behavior.
"In the passed three years John has never called us without asking for money, so I guess we are just concerned that he may really need our help other than financially." Mother of John Smith reported when we reached out to her for further questions. Both parents have reported that they have deposited a little cash into John's account "just in case."
"He could've just forgotten to ask, you know. College kids have so much on their minds these days," stated John's dad after making a quick trip to the bank with the expectation of receiving a phone call later in the day. John hasn't yet made a follow-up call to his parents asking for money, but the parents await the call anxiously.
When John's younger sister, Marissa, found out about the news that John has called just to talk, she was equally surprised. Marissa hasn't heard from John since he started college as Marissa can offer John no financial assistance.
"The last time John called me was to ask to borrow $10 except I didn't have $10 at the time. He hasn't call me since. I worry that something might actually be wrong with him if he called just to talk."
We reached out to other university parents for reactions of the news and we were shocked at what we found. Students all over, as of just recently, have been calling their parents to "just talk" instead of asking for money. We spoke to the Wilson family who was relieved after hearing the shocking report about John.
"We didn't want to tell anyone because the behavior was so out of the ordinary, but Emily has called three times this week alone to just talk. When we heard the news about John, we were so relieved it wasn't just our student, and we soon discovered that students all over the nation have started calling home without asking for money."
It seems as though their may be an epidemic on our hands as students continuing calling their parents just for the sake of conversation, love, and support. If your student calls you, be prepared to not have to give them money, and know you are not alone.