Dealing With Pre-college Stress?

bjkmom
Sat, 07 Jul 2018 10:43:57 +0000

Yes, absolutely Deep breaths.

For what it’s worth, I’m a high school teacher and the mom of 3. My son is a sophomore in college and my older daughter will be a freshman, leaving for school in 5 weeks.

And what you’re describing is absolutely normal and healthy… though you’ll want to work on toning down the “terrified” a little.

You’re going from the comfort of kids you’ve known your whole life to a school and a life where you know someone. We would be worried about you if you weren’t nervous.

Here’s the thing though: nothing about this scenario is irrevocable. The overwhelming number of kids get through this experience loving their school, making new friends, and seeing tremendous growth. They fit in, they like their roommate, they figure out how to navigate transportation and laundry and all those unnamed fears that are keeping you up at night.

And let’s consider for a brief moment what happens if you’re in the teeny tiny minority who don’t do all that. What if you hate it?

Then you transfer back to a school in your home town. You sleep in your own bed and commute to a local school. No harm, no foul.

So that’s your backup plan-- your “safety.”

I bet that someone got you a copy of “The Places You’ll Go” by Dr. Seuss as a graduation gift. Read it when you get the chance. Know that there will be some bumps and roadblocks on the road to come-- that’s true of life in general. But there’s no reason to think you won’t navigate them more or less successfully, and most people do. And if you hit some bumps that are bigger than you expect, mom and dad will be there for you.

Most important: those deep breaths. You can do this.