Family Weekend

Being the youngest in my family, my parents were understandably hesitant to let me venture out to the East Coast for college. They understood my want to get out of the Midwest, but had a harder time wrapping their minds around why I would want to be so far away from my family. To be fair, though, all three of my sisters did stay in the Midwest for college, and were only a few hours drive away from our house. Knowing that my parents were reluctant to let me leave did make me a little more nervous to come to Lehigh University. What if my parents were right? What if I want to come home, but I can’t catch a quick flight, or it’s too expensive? Question upon question were piling up in my head, but by the time August (and therefore freshman orientation) came around, there was no turning back. Obviously when I got to Lehigh I immediately felt comfortable and knew that this place is where I truly did belong. While I would tell my parents this every time I talked to them (often every day of the week), I felt like they didn’t really understand to what extent this was actually true. I see this as the main reason I was so excited for them to come visit me over Family Weekend.

Hailing all the way from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I don’t know too many family members who live within driving distance of Bethlehem, so having my family attend Parent’s Weekend in November meant a lot to me. Yes, I had been home for Pacing Break so it wasn’t as if I needed to see them, but I found myself getting more and more excited to show them my “new” life. Admittedly, I even started making a list of all the places on and off Lehigh’s campus that I wanted to take them. I wanted to prove to my parents that I was happy with my choice of college and that Lehigh and I were a good match. Showing my parents where I have my classes, where I study, and where I hang out a lot seemed more important to me than participating in one of the many tours or programs planned by the University. Arriving on Friday afternoon, my family was given an ample amount of time to tour how we wanted to, both Friday and Saturday. Proudly telling my parents a little bit about each building we passed, I felt a sense of accomplishment for having actually made it this far. It seems silly, but I think every freshman should take a step back, and realize what they have accomplished. We all made it through high school – what is supposed to be one of the most emotional times in a person’s life – and got into a well-respected college that we can be proud to show off. Apparently, family weekend was more than a time to see my parents, but yet another experience to learn something new about myself at Lehigh.