Eliza, 18, college
freshman
The big day had finally
arrived. It’s hard to believe. I’m so excited, but the excitement is
bittersweet. It would be so amazing to
finally have my freedom: freedom to come and go as I please, to meet all sorts
of new people, and to have wonderful new experiences. But this freedom also will be scary. For one, I’ll be away from my family. Though at times they can really get on my
nerves, deep down I love them a lot. Also,
I’m afraid that I won’t be able to make friends…and most of all, I still have
no idea what I want to do with my life.
All these thoughts are running through my head, as my parents drive me
to my new college life.
Steven, 7, Eliza’s
little brother
My
sister is going away to college, and this makes me really sad. Sometimes she teases me and makes me angry,
but she also plays games with me, reads bedtime stories to me, and takes care
of me when I get hurt or feel sad. I’m
going to miss her so much. I don’t know
why she has to leave. Daddy says it’s
because she needs to continue her education to get a good job like Momma and
Daddy, but why can’t she just keep going to school here so she can stay home
with us? At least Momma says Eliza will
come home as often as she can though.
She better! Otherwise I’ll have
to drive up to college and bring her home myself! Though first I’d have to learn how to drive…
Paul, 43, Eliza’s
father
My little girl is going off to college. I can’t believe it. As I drive—the miles until we reach the
university edging closer and closer—I repeat those thoughts over and over in my
head. I try to act nonchalant and strong
so my wife Vanessa doesn’t get upset, but it’s hard. The best I can do is stare blankly ahead and
make small talk, faking smiles occasionally.
I take a glance through the rearview mirror and see Eliza, her eyes
aglow and a nervous smile on her face as she gazes out the window, her legs
restlessly shaking. In reality, Eliza is
18 years old. She can drive, has worked
a job at Culver’s throughout high school to save up for college, has had a
couple of boyfriends and heartbreaks to go along with them, and graduated from
high school with high honors. In
summary, Eliza is a mature, smart, young woman.
…But looking at her now all I can see is a smart, precious four-year-old
little girl. Because that’s what she’ll
always be to me. My little girl.
Vanessa, 42,
Eliza’s mother
Don’t fall apart. Don’t cry, I keep telling myself over and
over. I manage to keep myself composed
on the outside—barely—but in the inside is a turmoil of worry. Eliza--my only daughter, my shopping buddy,
my best friend—is going off to college, leaving me behind. I know she’ll have some great new
experiences, but I latch onto worries about potentially bad experiences. Will she be
lonely? Will she be able to make
friends? And, if she does make new friends, what if they’re a
bad influence on her and she ends up getting involved in dangerous things at
parties? Will she do well in and enjoy
her classes? And most of all, will she
be happy? In the end, that’s all I want
for her: to be happy, no matter what she decides to do or be.
No comments:
Post a Comment