In high school, I would definitely say I went through a lot of phases. I mean, that's high school, right? There was one point when I was obsessed with being everyone's friend, and then another point when I didn't want any friends at all. Times I had a boyfriend, times I didn't. Times I swore I was going to be a doctor and times I swore I was going to be a fashion designer. And who was there to watch it all happen? No one other than my parents.

At about my junior year of high school, I really started to clash with my parents. I was just so over them, I just wanted to be an adult so badly, be on my own, little miss independent wasn't even the half of it. I am the oldest of four children, and my parents are relatively young. They had me in their early twenties, so you could say I was the practice first born. They are probably cringing as they read that (sorry Mom and Dad). But I was there first go at being parents so they had me try every sport, instrument, anything that even sparked my interest they threw me into. I think that might be where my strong ambition stemmed from, but I don't want to give them too much credit. For the most part, most of my childhood and adolescence, I really did get along with my parents.

But like I said, my junior year of high school we really started clashing. I had my first boyfriend, I was trying to become my own person and I could see going away to college in my horizon. And after two years of arguing and saying things I wish I never had, I got exactly what I wanted, I went away to college, all of 800 miles away.

I do not regret going away so far to school. I absolutely love Bowling Green; it ended up being the perfect school for what I majored in and I have met friends here and have had experiences here that will last me a lifetime. But I had no idea how much I needed a great relationship with my parents until I went so far away from home. Being so far away little things are a lot harder. I don't get to go home when I want to. If I am dealing with a crisis, I have to figure it out on my own and I basically have to build an entirely new life on my own, without my parents help. If I had gone to the state school in my home state, my life may have been a little different and those little things would never phase me. But leaving is what really made me realize how much I love my parents.

I am entering my junior year of college, and wow I have had some curve balls thrown at me. I've had my heart broken, I've had geology classes that have made me want to drop out, I've had 3 dollars in my bank account, and I've made some (occasional) bad decisions. But I know every time I pick up the phone and call my parents, they listen. They may yell, but then they are there to help me pick up the pieces and guide me. If you told 16-year-old me that she would love calling her mom just to talk and get some advice, she would've probably rolled her heavily lined eyes at you.

Point being, you do eventually love your parents and really do appreciate them. Genuinely. It takes you realizing what they are to your life, but it happens. A switch in your brain kind of goes on and you realize no one else is going to be in your corner except for those two goofballs that made you. I just moved into my first apartment this past week, and after a 12 hour car ride with my parents, stopping at rest stops and doing walking lunges with my mom, then having my dad carry everything I own upstairs into my tiny (dysfunctional) apartment... yeah I'm thankful. To all teens and upcoming college freshman who may come across this article, don't be so fast to push away your parents, because, believe me, you will need them. You will need them a lot. So thank your damn parents and remember that they are going to help you no matter what.

Thanks, Mom and Dad. I love you guys.