Becoming a sophomore is hard. I feel that now that we have entered our second year, we are expected to have figured out our lives.

Which, as you might expect, I haven't.

Not even close.

I'm not talking about majors or relationships (even though I haven't figured that out either, haha), I'm talking about being separated from my parents and living that adult life.

I live very far away from my parents, like, really far. Like a 16-hour flight takes me home far, and when I tell people that they always tell me that they can't imagine being that far away from home.

For me, personally, it was worse because I had even less time at home because I chose to do a summer session.

I had made a conscious decision, I knew this was coming, but it still stung.

Being an only child, my relationship with my parents is very tight. We support each other and tell each other all the important details of our lives and not being able to see them for months on end was hard during freshman year but my excitement for college and starting this new direction of my life got me through it.

Now that I already know how college is, what I'm trying to accomplish here, and what my long-term goals are, the surprises of college don't phase me anymore. I think that is why I am feeling the time difference and the distance to my parents more than I did last time.

Leaving your parents to go back to college is hard but you have to realize that this is the time to discover your needs and your aspirations, focus on what you need to do to get yourself closer to your dream life, and call your parents as much as possible, because don't hesitate to admit that you still need them.