By the end of their senior year in high school, many people have the same stream of thoughts multiple times a day. "I can't wait to leave for college... I'm SO over my parents... I just want to be on my own." It's a common mixture of feelings, comprised of being overwhelmed, frustration, a strong sense of urgency to break free of the nest, and just wanting to be your own person.
However, once you arrive on campus in August for your first day of college, and the successive years that follow, you should make an effort to keep your parents close. To let them know you miss them. To tell them how much you love them. The reason for this is that many people have the misconception that they're free from their parents once they get to college, and that they can do whatever the heck they want. Though you are technically not under your parents roof 80 percent of the time, you still have to depend on them at some point. Whether it's for food, advice, or help in a sticky situation, you don't want to make them feel like they're only there when they're needed.
Especially since they have so much to offer! Your parents have a lifetime of knowledge, and all they want is for you to learn from their mistakes so that you can be successful in life. They love you unconditionally and will always be there to support you, no matter what. After those days when nothing goes right, when you had a fight with your best friends, when you feel like no one gets you and everyone is out to get you, your parents are the ones that pick you up, dust you off, and send you on your way.
At this point in your life, you are legally an adult. You make the choices you have to live with, and eventually end up living with the repercussions of those choices. So having said this, your relationship with your parents is 100 percent dependent on you. However much effort you put into the relationship is how much you will get out of it. If you want to have a close relationship, keep them updated on your life, and make them a top priority.
So, moral of the story: be nice to them. Keep them close. Don't blow their phone calls off. Shoot them a text message every once in awhile, teach them to use Snapchat, update them on your life. No one will be more excited that your parents when you call to tell them you aced a test, or you crushed that interview. They want to be as involved in your life as you let them. So do yourself a favor, and let them in.
