Parental Partnerships

As our INTD class nears the end and I continue reflecting on the semester, I’ve noticed that college has changed my partnership with two very important people: my parents.

To be honest, I did not think the transition from life at home to college would be too challenging. I’ve always been a very independent person; I hate asking for help. So, I was surprised when I found myself calling my parents the very first week of school, asking how to do something as simple as laundry. Even reminding myself to go eat three meals a day was hard; at home food was just there. Instead of walking to the dining hall, I simply walked over to the fridge. I started talking to my parents weekly, but it was the same annoying questions I would receive after high school every day“how was school?” and “was practice hard?” being their favorites. It wasn’t until our second semester here that I noticed our relationship was different.

I knew that entering college brought me into an agreement with Geneseo, in which I must uphold certain expectations as a student, in exchange for an education. However, I didn’t know that the time away from home would cause me to see my parents from a new perspective. When they visit and we discuss my life at college, I realize they were once college students too. They had to figure out how to do laundry, love the questionable dining hall food, and learn a new meaning of the word “independence.” It’s strange to think of them as naive, young students like myself.

Not only could I suddenly relate to their previous lives outside of parenting, but I now converse with them in a much different way. At dinner, we’ve started to talk about their work lives and my passions in school. We hold intellectual conversations, each with our own opinions on the matter. We debate, laugh, and even reminisce about my childhood (something I didn’t realize I was old enough to do just yet.) We treat each other differently, as though we’re equals, rather than two separate parts of a parent-daughter relationship.

While away at college, I’m free to make all of my own choices. When I embarked on my academic journey, I hardly knew it would change relationships back home as well. I would never have guessed that my academics would, in one way or another, lead me to become such great friends with those who raised me. It’s certainly a partnership that keeps on rewarding.

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