Mom, Dad, I'm Home!

Mom, Dad, I'm Home!

Students talk about their return home after their first semester in college

Ethan Munns

For The Clock

ehmunns@plymouth.edu

Seasonal breaks in college are something to be treasured. It gives students time to spend with friends and family, but what happens to those relationships while students are away at college? Upperclassman at PSU share their experiences and offer insight to first years about these relationship changes.

“I never expected this, but my relationship with my parents actually strengthened since going to college,” said Abby Huston, a junior elementary education major. “No matter what when I go home I always have set dates to do something fun and special with my family. Just being away from them makes me appreciate the time I have to be with them.”

No matter how hard some people try, certain friendships will fade, and that is just a part of the college process. “In high school you’re friends with everybody, you’re all bound to the educational system together,” said Nayou Shar, a junior marketing and professional sales major. “The trick is to focus on maintaining the friendships with those who are closest to you, and to cut out any toxic friendships. Those kinds of people won’t be there to help support you.”

The relationships between significant others can change when one, or both, start college. “I have a relationship based at home,” said Shar. “When you come back home for break it’s easy to be forgetful with a relationship because you may go without seeing each other for a while. The goal is to really focus on the person you love, and do things you haven’t done before, switch it up once in a while, [and] make your relationship alive and blossom.”

When being away from family and friends for long periods of time, things inevitably change. It’s something to be prepared for as everyone is growing up and leading their own lives. “College will either strengthen or break your relationships at home,” said Ryan Wimble, a junior marketing major. “You will probably lose connections with people you aren’t as close with, and that’s ok. Focus on those who are there for you always.”