College is an aspiration that every child is told to work towards from the time they are in elementary school. If they get good grades, study hard, and are involved in extracurriculars, then these will all help their college resume. What we most often forget is that we do not get into college singlehandedly by ourselves. It’s with the help of our parents that we even have a chance to go to college.

From the time most of us are born, our parents are already planning for our future. They have already set up bank accounts for that “someday” of college that comes faster than one might think. It’s the little things they do every day that help, and sometimes we don’t even know it.

Every night when I was in elementary school my parents would sit down at the kitchen table with me and they would review my homework. After homework was done, they would help with the spelling or vocabulary definitions. This went on every night for almost six years. As I got older and started becoming more independent, I didn’t need them to check over my homework, but that didn’t mean that as a senior in high school they wouldn’t spend most of the evening to go over flashcards with me for that one class I had the most trouble with. They were always there to help, all I had to do was ask.

Being an only child, my parents never had to split their time between me and another sibling. So it was easy when I was younger and involved in dance, basketball, soccer, and softball. When high school came around and school was 25 minutes away, they always made time in their schedules to get me to that mandatory practice even if it started at 5 and their work ended at 5 as well. They always knew that even if this was important to me, it would be even more important towards my future when the time came around to apply for college.

So when senior year came around, the dreaded essays and CommonApp came with it too. The nights spent sitting at the kitchen table filling out forms and trying to perfect that one essay that would get me into my “dream school,” they did it willingly because they wanted this future for me, maybe even more than I did. Through all of the years of sports, performing arts, and grades, it had finally come down to this. Ten application submissions later (each coming with their own price) and all of our hard work would finally pay off.

As I sit here in my college dorm room and think back to all of the time, money, and hard work spent to get me where I am today, I couldn’t be more grateful. My parents wanted me to have a bright future, to be able to go out and get a job, and to be able to support myself. To every college kid around the world, just remember you weren’t alone in getting where you are today. Your parents were always there behind the scenes pushing you along to be the best you that you could be. The next time you see them, don’t forget to thank them. Give them a hug because they worked hard to get you here. So I’d like to say thank you, mom and dad, for helping me get to this place today. It means more to me than you could ever know.