Moving to college can be challenging for some people. For people like myself, you’re moving away from your family and your hometown. It can be quite difficult for some to adapt to this new era, especially if they have a close relationship with their family.

I have a close relationship with my family, specifically my parents, and naturally, it was very hard for me to go from spending as much time as I did with my parents to living away from them.

My relationship with my parents hasn’t changed too much aside from the distance. I call my parents every other day and I text them at least once a day so they know I’m okay. While I do miss them a lot, I’m so busy on campus that sometimes that feeling gets pushed back until my schedule dies down a bit. 

Originally, when I thought about college, I looked forward to the independence I would get being away from home, but sometimes I just want to go home and watch TV with my mom. I was excited about being on my own, but sometimes I feel lonely without family around.

I understand that some people are more than happy to be away from family and they don’t feel the need to go home as much. I completely understand the need for distance in cases like that, as not everyone wants to be physically close to their family.

Some people may need to move very far away to feel independent of their families and I understand that completely. I, however, am one of the people that don’t need a ton of space to feel independent. 

I’m not too far away, just about two hours or so. That is one of the reasons I picked Drake; the distance. It’s the perfect distance from my hometown; I can have independence while also being able to go home when I want. I don’t have a car on campus so going home is hard, but my parents are more than willing to drive out here to see me.

I value a strong and healthy familial relationship, so not having my family here to support me was a challenge, especially spring semester, since Drake only has one break before summer. It’s made me wonder if I truly spent as much time with my parents as I could have when I lived back home. 

Overall, I wouldn’t say that college has changed the way my family works, but it has changed one thing: college has changed my appreciation for my family and all they do for me. My mom and dad, as well as my step-father, worked really hard so that I could be here today, and I am forever thankful for that.

One of the aspects of Drake that I am so happy about is the fact that my family is so close and yet I am still able to live on my own. While I am in another city and another state, I can live here, on my own, and still be close to my family. So, if they miss me, they can visit.

I appreciate the time I have with them a lot more too, especially after almost a full year of living in Des Moines. I originally wanted to study abroad in England next semester, however, after my first semester at Drake, I knew that I would never be equipped to do the trip because I would just miss my family too much.

But you know what? Surprisingly, I’m okay with not going.

I can always travel. I have all the time in the world for that, but I don’t have a lot of time to spend with my family. Between classes and extracurricular activities, I barely have time to call sometimes, let alone actually go home and spend time with them.

My family is the most important thing in my life, and I am so glad that our dynamic hasn’t changed since I got here. I love what we have as a family and I wouldn’t change it for anything.