One of the hardest parts about leaving for college is leaving all the things you grew to love behind, whether it be your best friends from high school, your bed, or your family. The biggest shift is having to do a lot of things you realized were taken care of for you by yourself, like sorting lights from darks or telling yourself that eating another tub of Ben & Jerry’s is a bad idea. Here are 7 jobs your mom had in your life that you probably didn’t appreciate till you had to do them on your own in college.

Secretary

Calling a doctor’s office...awkward. Scheduling appointments...hectic. Making sure you actually schedule all your check ups, dentist visits, eyebrow and hair appointments is enough to make you miss your mom--even just a little. It’s not something you think about every day, and let’s face it, a lot of us didn’t have to.

Therapist

When you had a really not so great day and you come back to your dorm and throw your backpack on the table in frustration and realize you can’t bash your professor without a filter to your mom, it definitely makes you stop for a minute. Even when our mom’s annoyingly asked us how school was when we were in no mood to talk, it was nice to have the option. Some of us lucky enough to have great roommates can get away with a little vent sesh, but if they have the same professor, steer clear, not everyone is as understanding as a mom.

Nutritionist and Chef

At college, not only do you have more options and accessibility to food, you don’t have anybody suggesting you don’t eat the unhealthy foods! With mom around, eating healthy also seemed like something you had to do and made feeding yourself a priority. It really makes you miss the days you could grab a granola bar from a stocked pantry. You could always count on your mom to tell you that last cookie could lead to your favorite jeans getting too tight.

Nurse

There's no way around it--getting sick in college sucks. For some reason, getting sick in college feels like you’re getting sick for a month at a time. You feel disgusting, gross, and like a walking talking cess pool. Sick days and decent soup are a thing of a past, and no one's helping you with your medicine doses. The people at the campus hospital are nice, but they are nowhere near as helpful as a mom.

Alarm Clock

An apology in advance to my professors for all the missed 8 A.M.s. Sometimes phones don't charge or alarms don’t go off and waking up doesn’t go as planned. It was good to know someone was there to nag you out of bed if you didn’t get up in high school.

Housekeeper

Dorms are gross. There’s a lot of work to do to keep them clean, from sheets to surfaces to sinks. Sometimes even a Clorox wipe can’t handle it, but thankfully a phone call to mom can solve some of those situations. (Even though it's still not as great as having her there to help with those sticky situations).

Friend

Between decision day and move in day, your mom dropped some survival hints for the next few chapter in your life--college. Whether it was advice about how to handle boys, or suggestions about what not to wear when going out, it’s hard not having someone who completely has your back in college.

So for all of you who haven’t headed off to college yet, enjoy those precious perks. For those of you who have left home, send your mom a shout out for pulling your weight all these years. After all, it really isn’t easy.