Old Age is Not a Privilege Afforded to Many

Imagine leaving your childhood home for the first time, tripping over your new black shoes on the front porch. Your watchful parents see you off with teary eyes, guiding you onto the bus that will take you to an unfamiliar new future. You’re happy but nervous, excited but uncertain what college holds in store for you.

You’ve Imagined This Once Or Twice Before But Soon Begin To Doubt The Reality Of Leaving Home

In a little over a year, you’ll have your degree, with no memories of staying up past midnight with friends. You’ll have only one room and a single bed to call your own, all belongings crammed into a footlocker at the foot of your bed.

You won’t have had time to think about it, but this is the first moment you’ve ever had to yourself. And if you’re not careful, you’ll open up a new credit card account and find yourself in a pile of debt just as you’re finishing up your undergraduate degree.

Making Friends To Say Goodbye To

You’ll start making friends too, even if they won’t be close ones. You’ll study with them, party with them, and live with them. And when it’s finally time to leave campus for the summer, you’ll cry on your way out of town. You won’t say goodbye forever, but still, the thought of spending the future without seeing anyone often will hurt your heart just a little bit more than usual.

You’ll never stop missing home. But you won’t cry when you leave in the fall because it’s less of a goodbye and more of an “I’ll see you soon.” You’ve made your bed somewhere new, but that doesn’t mean leaving every once in a while isn’t good for the soul. Family is important, but family comes in all shapes and sizes.

Home Isn’t A Place; It’s People

And while your time at college may be over before you know it, the memories made there won’t ever fade away. You’ll become more confident in yourself and learn how to be an adult without guidance from your parents. You’ll get an education that will help you in a job for years to come and have fond memories to share with your grandchildren someday as your own children look at placement services for seniors.

So when you’re old and gray and taking a stroll through every moment in your life, you’ll remember them fondly. And when life stages come up in conversation, you can share those times with pride and say, “I was once like you.”