(This is a blog post I wrote for my PLA course.)
These past few days at State College were “Parent’s Weekend,” but instead of having my mom and dad come up to visit, I decided to go home. I hadn’t been home to West Chester since I left in mid-August, and this short break was much needed. Going home after being at school for so long feels almost like letting out a deep breath I wasn’t aware I had been holding in. I had fallen back into my Penn State routine, keeping myself overwhelmingly busy (the way I like it) and focusing really hard on both my academics and my social life. After a while, however, this can get very stressful. And sometimes the only remedy to the cinderblock of tension weighing on my chest is to get away from it all for a day or two.
This weekend it was only me and my mom in West Chester, and though I would have loved to spend time with my dad and my brother, I really appreciated the quality time I had with my mom. There are things we can talk about that only we can talk about, and there are things that I say to her that I know only she will truly understand. My friends give me amazing advice, and are always there for me when I need a helping hand or to simply someone to sit there while I vent and complain and let the pent-up thoughts spew from my mind. But there is just something about talking things out with my mom that is unlike any other situation.
Here’s why I think that is: my mom truly and completely, wholeheartedly and indiscriminately wants what is best for me. I know that my friends and the rest of my family do too, but my mom has been there for me through it all and knows exactly the right things to say to remind me what I deserve. There are times when I will be doubting myself, and she’ll make an argument with references to past experiences in my life that I didn’t even remember myself. That’s one thing that I’m sure most girls can relate to – if I tell my mom about someone who wronged me on the fourth day of second grade at recess, she will to this day know that person’s name and everything about them. And she won’t like them.
The point that I’m trying to make is that there is simply just some advice that only a mother can give, and some conversations that can only be had with the person who has been there for you your whole life and knows you more than you know yourself. I think it is extremely important to have a strong relationship with your mom, because she is there to both pump you up and remind you if you are being delusional and overthinking. This also tends to help when I’m trying on clothes – when it comes to this, my mom’s opinion is one of the only opinions that I fully trust.
I am so fortunate to have a mom that I can talk to about everything and trust with anything. Sure, we can get on each other’s nerves at times and occasionally we butt heads about anything from Facebook stalking to how late I’m staying out to what TV show we should watch, but I wouldn’t trade my mom for the world. This weekend in West Chester was exactly what I needed, and I can’t wait for the many more shopping trips, dinner dates, musical attendances, and orchard visits to come.
