As a senior, you’ll obviously be looking forward to college and the independence that comes with it. No more mommy and daddy nagging about homework and cleaning behind your ears; the dream life. You’ll be on your own and free to do as you please. Pass or fail, it’s all on you.
But what you aren’t thinking about is how much you’re going to miss your parents. Your mom won’t be there to wake you up in the morning or make your favorite dinner, and dad won’t be there to help you with your essays at one in the morning.
You’ll have plenty of time to be away from them in the next four years so don’t start pushing them away now. This may be the last year you’ll really get to spend with them. You’ll go to college and be able to come home every once in a while, then when you graduate you’ll get a job and start your own life. Bye bye safety blanket.
Remember how much you’ll miss your parents when you start to argue about going out on Saturday night. Think about how much they have done for you and appreciate them and the time you spend together.
Senior year is going to be filled with plenty of stressors like college applications, scholarships, and trying to work in college visits. Each of those will be difficult without the help of mom and dad. If you start feuding with the family they will feel less inclined to help you with your crunching deadlines.
Also in the long run who is helping you pay for college? For most of us Mom and Dad’s bank account will slowly shrink as we broaden our horizons at university. If your parents are constantly fighting with you over little things they may not be as generous with paying for the dream school, leaving you with a cheaper choice college.
Your parents love you and want you to be successful in school, but they also want you to be safe. Your maturity may affect their willingness to send you away to a big school. A safer option would be a small school close to home, where they can keep tabs on their baby. Senior year is when you really need to prove that maturity and ability to be on your own. If you spend your time fighting and whining your parents aren’t going to see a stable independent adult.
Lastly, spend time with your parents just because. You owe it to them to have a few weekend family nights. They have done so much for you throughout your life and they deserve a little appreciation. When you’re away at college they’ll miss having their little baby around, and you’ll miss having your nagging, annoying, loving, caring, and completely awesome parents around.
