College is seen as a rite of passage for most, and perhaps the time of your life when you officially enter the transition stage to becoming a bona fide grown-up. While that's the case, sometimes, we just need our parents, who happen to be bona fide grown-ups, to help us get there. As for me, I'm very close to my parents. I could have seen myself going somewhere further away. I was deciding between Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, or Miami University in Oxford, Ohio before finding out I was accepted to my dream school, Carolina. I think I'm very blessed to have been accepted there and incredibly blessed to have my dream school close to home. I think you'll be able to relate, too.
1. Move-in day doesn't become synonymous with homesickness...
When I was a kid, it was impossible for me to spend the night at someone else's house without immediately wanting to go home when it got dark outside. (I just really liked being home with my parents.) Luckily, I am now older and wiser and have thus grown out of that phase, but I won't lie and say it isn't nice being able to see them relatively easily whenever we want.
2. ...and it also doesn't require a U-Haul.
Since I only live an hour away, it can be easy to tailor your move-in process to what will be easiest for you and your family. For example, my freshman year, we took everything that we knew would be absolutely necessary upon move-in and what we knew would fit, and then brought whatever else I wanted or would fit in the room. You can even send things back home pretty easily if you decide you don't want it, instead of bringing everything you want at once.
3. Your parents know the campus almost as well as you do.
I'm a very directionally-challenged being, unfortunately, and so it took me a solid three weeks of Google-mapping my way to classes before I had a modicum of understanding of the campus. Luckily, since we live close to campus and having to come up for orientation and whatnot, my mom now knows where the main roads and buildings are as well as I do. In fact, I'll be completely honest: one day, I was on the phone with my mom on my way to a certain building which I couldn't find, and she told me exactly where it was.
Parents are the best.4. Family Weekend doesn't have a specific weekend.
Here at Carolina, Family Weekend happens at the end of September, and it always super hyped up, and rightly so; parents come up for the football games, go to lunch, go shopping and attend family-centered events all weekend. It's all wonderful, but I think it's also great to have lots of little family activities throughout the year.
5. You get to have home-cooked food pretty regularly.
Whether you rely on food from the dining hall as your main form of sustenance or you've decided to sharpen your culinary skills, it's quite nearly a universal truth that nothing you or your school makes will ever taste as good as that chicken, macaroni and cheese, stuffed peppers or banana bread your mom makes. (I'm hoping that my mom is reading this right now and will take the hint. Love you!)
6. Holiday travel hassles? Not for you!
It's as easy as 1,2,3: for me, my mom comes to my dorm, I get in the car and we drive home. That's literally the entire travel plan. It's nice to not have to worry about buying an airline or train ticket (or some other means of transportation) and figuring out how to get there in time for your departure. Plus, what if it's snowing, and your flight is canceled? As long as your folks can get out of the driveway, that's all you really have to worry about.
7. Forget or need something important? Not a problem.
This is when being close to home really has its advantages. Maybe you forgot something really important when you were moving in, or maybe you need that fancy dress and heels that you wouldn't otherwise wear. It's easy to get a hold of quickly, and you don't need to worry about unnecessary clutter from storing things you aren't even sure you'll need, and you'll learn how to pack lightly.
8. When you're sick of "adulting," or just plain sick, you can leave it to your adults to take care of you
GiphyI'd be lying to you if I told you I was writing this from my campus, but I'm actually sitting on my couch at home looking out the window. I had been suffering from a migraine that fluctuated in intensity for the past couple days, and last night was the kicker. I was just so frustrated, and I honestly wanted to cry and just be taken care of, so I did just that. My parents left at 8:20 p.m., they were at my dorm at 9:20, and by 10:30 I was in bed underneath the super warm and fluffy blanket my mom crocheted. It was exactly what I needed.
