NOTE: Just like my last post earlier this week, I’m fully aware that I’m still posting back-to-school stuff at the end of September, but it’s my blog and I can do what I wanna do. So I am. Here it goes …
For the past month or so, people have been blogging about back-to-school season and posting photos of their kids’ first day of school, or in the back-to-school college edition, sharing pictures of dorm rooms. I know because with both a high schooler and a college student, I did both.
Like so many others, we recently dropped our first-born off at college. Unlike so many others, our college drop-off experience wasn’t tear-filled — in part because it wasn’t our first rodeo (he spent that last two years of high school away at boarding school), and in part because it was a bit rushed. While I did whisper “I love you” and “Make good decisions” in my son’s ear as we hugged goodbye, there’s so much more I wish I told him.
If I had a do-over, here’s the rest of the parental advice I would have shared with my college freshman as he went back-to-school and started his new life:
- Be a good human (not a d-bag)
- Don’t do drugs
- However many drinks you think it takes to get drunk, you’re probably overestimating. Drink in moderation
- Make your bed every day (and wash your sheets regularly!)
- Clean your room
- Use the laundry basket, not the floor
- Don’t leave wet/sweaty clothes in the hamper
- Stay on top of your laundry
- Separate whites and colors (and use hot water for whites)
- Floss
- Be considerate … use the Poopourri
- Recycle
- Stay hydrated (beer doesn’t count!)
- Eat your veggies
- Snack less (focus on protein intake)
- Class before ass … prioritize studying over girls and sports
- ALWAYS wear a condom
- Get consent EVERY TIME
- Don’t kiss and tell
- Don’t get in a car with someone who’s been drinking (even just one!)
- Always wear your seat belt
- Mask up (and keep a spare in your backpack)
- Hold the door open for others
- Never miss a chance to pee
- Be respectful
- Be kind
- Apologize
- Own your shit
- Use your manners
- Use your voice (and take a stand)
- Say please and thank you
- Make good decisions
- Know your worth
- Be yourself
- Arrive on-time (better yet, 5 minutes early)
- Work hard in the classroom and on the field
- Challenge yourself and don’t just take the easy way out
- Create a daily routine
- Find a quiet study location
- Stay on top of your deadlines
- Plan ahead (if a professor gives you a week for an assignment, she expects a week’s worth of effort)
- Prioritize sleep
- When you fail, learn from your misstep and adjust
- Feel your feelings, but don’t wallow in them
- Stay open-minded
- Get involved
- Grow
- Make yourself (and me) proud
- Text/call your mother
- Breathe
- You got this … and when you think you don’t, I’m always here to remind you that you do
H, if you’re reading this, hold your head up high so your crown doesn’t slip and be the royal leader that you are … then call home!
-LJDT
