As summer starts to wind down, hundreds of residents are about to embark on an exciting, and somewhat scary journey: starting college. It’s a momentous step, but our young residents are well prepared to begin secondary education, and to succeed, thanks in no small part to their upbringing in this town and its stellar school and support systems.
Some of our college students will stay close to home, while others will travel across the country to pursue their secondary education. Just 20 years ago, that might have made one feel as if they were left out on an island, with the only tethers to family and friends back home being a shared dorm room phone line and handwritten letters. But communication has improved exponentially from even just a decade ago, when text messaging and the advent of Facebook were viewed as major game-changers. Now, it seems like you can take your friends and family to school right along with you. Through various smartphone messaging and video tools, apps, and social media (and, yes, even still the occasional phone call) nobody is more than a screen tap away from their loved ones.
And yet, incoming college students will still have more independence in their lives than ever before. It will be up to them whether they want to have an apple for breakfast or three bowls of cereal. Heck, they can have cold pizza in the morning if they want to, and there won’t be a soul to stop them. It’s a gift and a curse; one of many simple learning opportunities for which each one of them will have to set their own personal rules.
Our new college students will have fun – and undoubtedly, they will also be stressed. They will be overwhelmingly busy and yet somehow have a ton of downtime. They will make new best friends, and then a few weeks later, meet new new best friends. It’s a lot for anyone to process, let alone teenagers experiencing a massive lifestyle change.
But it will all turn out okay, as their parents, older siblings, and other loved ones will attest. It may not always feel like it to the students (and parents!) who are dealing with a whole lot of “newness” at once, but they are ready to take this step.
Parents of new college freshmen, remember that you, too, will survive this massive change in your life. It’s a challenge to go from parenting a child every single day, to having that same child living out from under your roof. So, be sure to set up that weekly video chat date with your child so you can catch up with each other (and don’t forget to send a Tribune subscription along with them so they can keep up with what’s happening in their hometown while they’re away!).
Despite being apart from one another, you’re still the parent and you still have a listening ear to offer when needed. At some point, most parents of new college students get an “I can’t do this” call as your child learns to navigate life independently. That is when you can step in to offer a reminder that college is a place to get an education, but that it’s also a place to learn about life, to build relationships, and to grow as a person.
The first year of college is a huge opportunity for growth for both the student and the parents. We could write thousands of words and not even scratch the surface of useful advice to our residents as they enter college and take another step toward adulthood. But all the ten dollar words in the world pale in comparison to some of life’s simple adages, ones you have surely already heard countless times before. So, take what you have learned from your years in Livingston and in our town’s outstanding school system, and show the world what you’re made of.
We wish the best of luck to the Class of 2028. We cannot wait to see all the dreams you will realize, the things you will try, and all the good you will put into the world.
And don’t forget, students and parents, to stop by Town Hall before heading off to college to register for absentee ballots for November’s elections. For many students, it will be the first time they will be able to cast a vote; we would not want any residents missing that opportunity, with a potentially contested race for Livingston’s Board of Education on this year’s ballot. Who, after all, knows more about the needs of our schools than recently graduated students? And, for those who may not have heard, there’s a presidential election, as well, and our first-time voters will surely want their voices to be heard in such a monumental contest.
