By Hannah Meibers, The Miami Student
Living on campus has been a phenomenal experience. Of course, phenomenal is a relative term. For me, it's phenomenal to be surrounded by friends, a beautiful campus and numerous opportunities. However, great things must come to an end. With holidays fast approaching, I will be returning home in a few weeks to be surrounded by my parents, my quirky hometown and my own bathroom. Although I've been missing the luxury of privacy, I've been missing my parents the most.
How often do you call mom and dad?
Let me rephrase that: How often do you call mom and dad not just to talk to your pet?
Although I love the videos of my cat venturing up and down his cat tree, I love hearing my parents' voices a little more. As college students, we all love the freedom of living away from home. Unfortunately, it's easy to forget who gave us the opportunity to do so.
This past Thursday, my parents drove from my hometown of Middletown, Ohio to Oxford to spend an evening with my sister and me. To my surprise, I couldn't stop my mouth from moving as we sat in Fiesta Charra. I'd texted, emailed and spoken on the phone with my mom and dad numerous times since I've been on campus, but finally getting to sit down and talk with them was phenomenal.
Yes, phenomenal is a relative term. They couldn't close their ears as I told them of my new adventures, discoveries and more.
This evening was such a surprise because I've never been a fan of talking too much. I'm an introvert, and I prefer to exhume my thoughts and feelings in a more creative way. However, now that my parents aren't just down the hall, I find myself grabbing my phone immediately to tell them about the 'A' I earned on my Latin quiz or the crazy news I just heard.
I've grown up with my parents always at my beck and call. I was never denied clean laundry, a hot meal or an abundance of hugs. However, living away from home causes a lot of students to take advantage of their parents' love. Instead of studying into the wee hours of the morning, some students use this time to drink at Brick Street.
It's flabbergasting to think of all the money, support, time and love that parents put into a single human being. It's even more flabbergasting to think that that student could be skipping class to sleep in or play video games instead of doing homework.
Of course, our parents are not the only reason we've been accepted into Miami University -- but our parents are the root of our drive and determination to succeed in life. They've bestowed upon us the intelligence that leaves our professors in awe, the smile that makes that cute guy in biology class fall in love and that heart that keeps our friends in it for the long run.
Picking up the phone and calling home is easier said than done, and I know how much our parents appreciate hearing our voices after a long day of work.
Excuse me, but I have a phone call to make.
meiberhl@miamioh.edu