Coming back from college for the summer is definitely bittersweet. Another year has gone which means you're one step closer to graduating, but you're also home for the summer and can see your family and home friends.
With all the excitement that follows summer, there may have to be a few less than easy adjustments coming home.
Coming home to live with your family again after being alone for 9 months out of the year is no easy task.
Where you are used to doing anything and everything you want when on your own, things change when you move back home. Suddenly the "my roof, my rules" mantra starts coming into play again and it is less than enjoyable.
When I came home for the summer the first time, I didn't realize how independent I came from living on my own that whole year. When I came home and thought nothing would change, I was sorely mistaken. Coming and going as I pleased definitely didn't fly with my parents.
I was stuck in this weird in-between phase that I didn't know how to get out of.
The solution?
I talked to them.
Let's just say the first couple of times didn't go so well but eventually, they got the idea. The truth is, most parents don't like to admit that their kids are growing up. Just like you didn't realize how much growing up you did those first nine months alone, they didn't either.
Honestly, when we all came home they probably didn't recognize us at first. We all looked a little older, carried a little more confidence, and didn't need their approval as much.
We began to march to the beat of our own drums, and they weren't used to it.
When we come home, parents are not trying to ruin our lives and not let us do anything, I think they're just afraid we'll grow up faster than they want us to. The love that parents have for their kids is unmeasurable, and none of us will ever know what it's like until we become parents ourselves.
Their frustration with us is their way of saying "we love you, please don't grow up so fast."
In the moment of time where we are fighting with our parents about going out somewhere or doing something, it may seem like they're unfair and inconsiderate, but I promise they're not. My best advice: just talk to them.
