Leaving for school will never be easy, but you know what's the hardest part?

Saying goodbye to my mom and watching her drive away while knowing I won’t see her for a few months. I think we can all agree that we don’t really appreciate everything our moms do for us. It's only until we have to do things for ourselves that we truly appreciate our moms.

For example, my Mom can find ANYTHING. I could spend hours looking for a shirt that I am positive my sister took or left at a friends house, but when she looks, it is found within two seconds. How does one obtain a skill like this?

Seriously. Somehow I always seem to lose things while I’m at school so I wish I had her here to help.

Not to mention, even after a long day, she is always willing to make something if anyone is hungry. When you’re living in a dorm, you still get the luxury of someone making food for you. When you live in an apartment, everything changes. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stressed about when I was going to make dinner or what I was even going to make.

My Mom and I have always had a good relationship, but it wasn’t until I left for college when we started to get super close. When my sister was in school, she called my mom every day, but I assured her that wouldn’t be the case with me. Within one week of being at school, I knew I was wrong. It’s wasn’t only that I needed to talk to her; I wanted to talk to her.

I swear, no matter what time of day it is, she is always there to answer my phone call. Like I said, I never thought I would call her as much as I do. I can easily say I talk to her every day. I find myself calling her on my way to class just to catch up.

Growing up, we all get annoyed with being asked countless times how our day was from mom. I promise, when you get to college, you’ll find that you go out of your way to let her know how your day is going. FaceTime is also a beautiful thing, but it still isn’t the same.

As I’ve gotten older, I have started to realize how truly lucky I am to have someone who cares so much. Your mom is someone who will always give you unconditional love even when you make a mistake. Moms understand, because, chances are, they’ve been through the same situation before. Somehow, she always knows exactly what to say and constantly reminds me that tomorrow is another day.

It’s easy to say that it is definitely a hard transition not having your mom around. She isn’t here to give me the huge hug I expect after receiving a good grade, to immediately run into the bathroom the second I yell “help” knowing I’m going to get sick or to just hold me as I cry when I feel as if my world is ending.

So thank you, College, for reminding me how lucky I am. More importantly, thank you, Mom. Thank you for all of the little things you do, not because you have to, but because you want to. I will be lucky to be half as great a Mom as you are. I love you to the moon and back. I will see you soon.