Before I left for my freshman year of college, I could tell my family and friends were a little worried for me. I was going 500 miles away from home in Gaithersburg, Maryland to Indiana University.
I lacked independence and it wasn’t an unspoken thing. I depended on my parents to support me through everything and pull me out of undesirable situations. My first day of classes when I was panicked about how hard my math class was going to be, I called my mom and demanded she fix it and help me drop the class. She then reminded me that I’m on my own here and I must figure it out for myself. I may or may not have cried that day..
The best friends I’ve had since middle school knew very well of this and cooperated to my dependence whenever I needed them to do something for me that I didn’t know how to do. Coming to college has been a wakeup call that came immaturely, but at the right time.
College is all about new experiences but for me, it consisted of "firsts" most people had years ago. The day my parents left me alone in college to fend for myself was the first day I ever made my own bed. A week later (with some assistance from my mom on the phone of course), I did my first load of laundry. I made an entire new slew of friends to replace the people I’ve known since I had braces back in 6th grade. I had to take care of myself in a completely new environment. I learned to suck it up, put on my shower shoes, pick up my shower caddy and head down the hallway to use the communal bathroom.
PS: miss you Mom :(
