Welcome to the Hopkins Forums!

Welcome to the Hopkins Forums! You are currently viewing our forum as a GUEST, which means while you'll be able to view all of the content of our forum you won't be able to reply or ask your own new questions. If you're already a member, please login using the form below. If you would like to register for the Hopkins Forums so you will be able to post your own questions, simply follow the instructions below:

  1. Click here to begin the registration process.
  2. Read the registration agreement and make sure you fully understand the rules of our forum before agreeing.
  3. Fill out the required information, and enter the verification code.
    • If you'd like to connect your Facebook account to our forums, click on the corresponding button and follow the instructions.
  4. Click "Register".
  5. That's it! All you have to do now is click on the verification link in the email address you registered account with.
Pages: [1]

Author Topic: Parents: What did you wish you knew?  (Read 3151 times)

JHU_Lauren

  • Hopkins Alumni
Parents: What did you wish you knew?
« on: February 03, 2008, 06:32 PM »
As parents of either a high school student applying to schools or a new college student preparing to move into his or her dorm, you obviously had many questions, especially if it was your first time going through the process.

For those parents of students who are going through that similar situation right now, look back on the past year or two.  What is the one thing you wish someone had told you to expect?  What is the one piece of advice -- from dealing emotionally to preparing for life away from home to technical issues -- that you wish you had known?
lauren *
HOPKINS, CLASS OF 2011
http://blogs.hopkins-interactive.com/lauren

"Leave something good in every day."

JHU_Mandy

  • Hopkins Alumni
Parents: What did you wish you knew?
« Reply #1 on: February 04, 2008, 02:59 PM »
[[from my mother]]: It didn't seem as hard as I thought it would to leave the campus and go home.  I thought I'd be a mess, but I wasn't.  I was doing very well and handling the situation with much less anxiety than I expected...until we got back to the house and my daughter wasn't there with us.  That's when it really hit me.  I wish I would've had some clue as to how hard that return would've been, if nothing else it would've been nice to know so that I could be prepared.
mandy
jhu class of 2011
public health studies
read my blog!

JHU_Diane

  • Hopkins Parent
Parents: What did you wish you knew?
« Reply #2 on: February 08, 2008, 10:09 AM »
I thought I was prepared to leave the campus and go home.  Boy, was I wrong.  Having to leave our daughter at school was perhaps the hardest thing we ever had to do.  It was so emotional for us pulling away from the campus and heading home.  And, like Mandy's mom, it was hard walking into the house and knowing that she wasn't there waiting or wouldn't be coming in later that night before bed.  It was also hard the first time I walked into her bedroom and saw all the stuff that she left behind.  Again, I honestly didn't think it would be that hard on us and I thought we were prepared.  But no matter how well prepared you think you are, you are going to miss your child and the daily interaction that you had together.  It just takes some adjustment and time.  You'll find that you can still have that interaction daily either through phone calls while walking to classes, emails or instant messaging.  You just have to give it time.

As for a technical issue....if you are planning on bringing a television, it takes a few days to have cable hooked up so if your child is counting on using the television before this, make sure you bring an antenna so they can get some channels to watch!  ;)  Otherwise, you'll be heading to Best Buy to buy one.
Diane...Proud Mom of JHU_Lauren, Class of 2011

JHU_Lori

  • Hopkins Parent
Parents: What did you wish you knew?
« Reply #3 on: February 08, 2008, 12:31 PM »
I agree with both Mandy's mom and JHU_Diane. I still wander into Josh's room every once in a while and definitely find excuses to send emails during the week to keep in touch in between calls. My mom warned me how hard it was going to be and told me stories about how she cried when I went away to college but I never believed it - I thought it was just because she was a stay at home mom and figured with my busy schedule it would be different. But it wasnt. The only thing I would add is that while it gets easier as the year goes on, I really wasn't prepared for the same feelings to creep up on me again as winter break ended. After about 5 weeks of seeing Josh every day and seeing his room back to its usual messy state of clothes and other stuff all over the place, it was  hard to wave goodbye to Josh as he pulled out of the driveway (he somehow convinced his grandparents to drive him all the way back to school from NJ after the break) and even harder to see his room empty and clean again.  (I would love to hear a dad's view on all of this).

On the practical side,  again I agree with JHU_Diane that the cable situation was a bit of a problem. Took a couple of weeks for Josh to straighten everything out and get it set up properly. The other thing to keep in mind is dorm rooms are very small (much smaller than I remember from my college days) - so make sure that you are prepared in terms of underbed storage and other creative solutions. I saw a few people pull up with carloads of stuff that I am sure did not fit and they had to take back home.

JHU_Stefanie

  • Hopkins Student
Parents: What did you wish you knew?
« Reply #4 on: February 12, 2008, 09:32 PM »
Welcome parents!  I absolutely love hearing this perspective.  As the college student staying behind, I must admit that it was a huge adventure!  I did consider how my parent's would feel, but honestly, I think the excitement overwhelmed me (in a pleasant way, of course).  Being the last kid to be left behind, I'm sure my parents felt an "empty nest" emotion, but I call them quite often. :)  Anyway, I am definitely going to recruit my dad to give his input.  It'll be interesting to actually see what he has to say in writing.  I don't think I ever really asked how they felt (how selfish of me, right?).  Anyway, thank you so much for the inputs!  You guys have got me thinking!
Pages: [1]