What am I going to do in college?

I get up in the morning 15 minutes before I leave for school. I go down stairs to get breakfast. There’s a buffet of three to four different meals ready for me with my plate made. I then have choices of water, coffee and orange juice. On top of that my lunch is made and my water bottle is filled. Ten minutes later when I’m ready to walk out the door I grab my lunch and water bottle and head to school.

What am I going to do in college?

Once I leave for school my pajamas are on the floor of my bedroom, and my bed is not made. My Starbucks cup from the previous day is on my bookshelf. My laundry hamper has a pile of dirty clothes in it. But when I come home there’s a snack ready for me; I then walk up to my room to discover that my Starbucks cup is thrown away, that my bed is made and that my clean clothes are in a neat pile on my bed ready for me to put up.

What am I going to do in college?

I’m in my office studying when I get a text saying dinner is ready. I go down stairs, and my plate is made with a glass of water or soda. Usually I don’t eat dessert, but if I do there’s a homemade dessert ready for me.

What am I going to do in college?

I stay up until 2 a.m. studying and doing homework. Sometimes I end up falling asleep while trying to figure out AP Physics. When that happens I end up waking up with my papers on top of me, so I quickly toss them in the correct folder and head out, but sometimes I’m forgetful. I leave music, mouthpieces, homework, projects, papers, forms, etc. either on the printer or in my office. When I realize I forgot them I walk to the front office ten minutes later to pick them up. Just the other day I had to present a project in my Literature class. Well it took a minor turn an hour before we had to present: I didn’t have the presentation materials (which happened to be cookies). However, within 15 minutes, three different types of cookies were waiting for me at the front office.

What am I going to do in college?

Honestly though what am I going to do? I don’t cook, clean, shop, do the laundry or anything else except study and hang out with friends. It’s not just that I don’t do anything, but also because I don’t know how to do half of the things I probably should. In August of 2016 I was a junior and had two years to learn this stuff before college. Little did I know I was going to change that plan within a day. I type this now as a senior in high school who is moving to another state in June.

What am I going to do in college?

I am running out of time to learn everything I need to know to stay alive in college. Because as I spend every waking moment doing nine classes worth of homework and studying, time with my friends-time is slipping away. Time is the one thing I don’t have enough of these days.

What am I going to do in college?

The number of days left in what I’ve called a “home” for the past 15 years are limited, decreasing every day. I live in a world full of stress, brightened golden moments, but I have a short amount of time left in my comfort zone. For the past 17 years everything has been done for me and given to me, but five months from now that’s going to be taken away from me. I’m going to have to function individually and independently.

What am I going to do in college?

The helping hand that was always there for me was all thanks to one person. This person has gotten up before I would even imagine to get a variety of meals ready for me so that I would always have a packed lunch ready. On any given day, this person has dropped whatever they were doing to help me by bringing or picking up something. Once this person drove an hour just to wait with me while I got a spare tire. This person has exceeded all standards.

What am I going to do in college?

This person has always been there. I have never had to try to survive on my own because this person was there for me. I have been provided anything I’ve ever wanted or needed for the past 17 years while never having to get it on my own, so I am used to not having to worry about anything, knowing that if I forgot or needed anything I would have it.

What am I going to do in college?

In five months this person will still be in my life, but this person will be 552 miles away. I will no longer have the comfort of having having someone to ensure that things aren't forgotten or left undone. I will be starting a new adventure, and I’m not sure what’s going to happen. But I have lived an amazing 17 years with this person right by my side, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else.

What am I going to do in college?

I can’t give you a solid answer, because I don’t know. I am going to be lost, confused, scared, who knows what. Yes, I am ready to be an LSU Tiger, I have been for 17 years, but I am not ready to live on my own. I will admit that. Time has flown by, and now my time here is coming to an end. I don’t know what to think or what to do about that, but I do know that for the next stage of my life will be filled with thanks for this person everyday. I appreciate everything this person does for me, and I definitely don’t say thank you enough.

This person is my mom.