I just want to say... it feels good to be home. I think college is something that makes a lot of kids realize how important their families are. After the fracturing times middle school and high school can bring to the parent-child relationship, there's a lot that being away from home and being on your own can do to repair and revitalize it.
After an extremely difficult quarter, I am very happy to be home.
That's not to say I don't miss UCSD life as well.
There is something about being on your own that can be very freeing. My mom, after a lot of work on her part, is a lot less restrictive nowadays and accepting of me growing up and becoming an adult. I've been very blessed by her grace in the situation.
However, there's just something special about being awake at 2:30 in the morning and leaving your apartment to take a walk around a campus full of outdoor art pieces and interesting architecture, having your friends over late and loud, determining exactly what your schedule is for the day and deciding it's ok not to wake up until 2 in the afternoon. There's something cool about being able to do whatever you want whenever you want.
When you go home, I think for most kids, that freedom is definitely cut back. And it can be hard. My first winter break home, I felt caged in and when I wanted to take that early morning walk, I knew my mom would get upset if I just randomly left the house in the middle of the night on my own. Also, the streets are just not as safe as campus. It was hard and I resented my mom a lot. It felt like I was back in high school and not that I had taken care of myself perfectly well for a whole quarter. It definitely caused some fights and frustration. We talked and it's a lot better now. She's been really understanding and gives me enough freedom when I'm home that I have been able to go out and hang out with friends at 230 in the morning and not gotten flack for it the next day.
That feeling though was something I never expected. No one's ever talked about it, at least to me, and it's not something I've ever read in those "How To Survive College" books. (I don't think I read any of those though.) It was something I never even thought of. I just wanted to put it out there in hopes that someone can learn from it.
Going from home to college is a big change, but going from college to home can also be a big one.
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