1. College letters
If we haven’t already, soon we will be getting letters of acceptance, "wait-listed," or rejection from the colleges of our dreams. First off, DON’T OPEN THE LETTER UNTIL WE GET THERE. Tell us and even send a picture of the envelope but do not dare open that letter. This is our special moment.
Speaking of special moments, if we get an acceptance letter, rejoice with us. Don’t start fretting about all the bad stuff that might happen or stress us with financial aid worries. Have fun and enjoy the moment with us over getting accepted into college.
If we get a rejection letter, and this totally depends on the kid, but don’t take it personally on you or on us. There are several reasons why we could have gotten a rejection letter that are out of our hands, such as too many people got accepted into the program already.
“Wait-listed” letters are the hardest to deal with. Give us time. If we were wait-listed into our top school, we want to see if we get accepted soon. Please don’t rush us into putting this school in the back of our heads. This is our decision, after all.
2. Don't be a helicopter parent
If you find yourself talking, emailing, and getting to know the professors, the school map is engrained in your head, and you know our schedule to a freaky point, you might be overbearing on us.
We are just fine here and, though we might not tell you or want to realize it ourselves, we need to be independent at college. Yes, we will have a few scares during the first week and want to come rushing home for a bit, but in the end, we will be just fine.
3. Don't shut us out
On the other hand, if we try to text you or come home one weekend and can’t get ahold of you, you might have thrown us out of your lives to easily. Please let us come take a break from school every now and then. We don’t need shelter constantly, but a small break from ramen noodles and that know-it-all kid would be nice.
4. Let us vent to you
We won’t be calling or texting after every class, but during rough patches it is nice to let us vent to someone who really knows us and can give us some trustful advice. I took a class in college where one day the professor asked how many of us still texted our parents occasionally. The class might have had 25-30 people; every one of us raised our hands.
Our relationship will also be better when we aren’t living with you anymore. Doesn’t matter how great or terrible the parent/kid relationship is; it will improve once we have a little freedom.
5. You are not going to like what we do all the time
This one might be tougher to swallow than the rest. You might hear either from us or someone else that we did something completely stupid, reckless, or dangerous. Refer to all the freedom talk. We are just experiencing the world without so many rules.
It’s like a toddler that you told several times to stay away from the stairs and the kid falls down the stairs anyway. We have to learn our limits for ourselves now. Please understand this.
6. Know this: we still love you and miss you
Finally, we all love you oh so much and yes, of course we miss you. (Also quarters for laundry would be nice!)
