<p>I know most kids would never ask this, but do the kids cry when they get dropped off at college too? I know the parents do, but I haven't heard many kids admit it! I know I will. At least a little anyway.</p>
<p>When I moved in to college (3 years ago now!) I cried myself to sleep the night before, on the way to the airport, and again as we were pulling up at my dorm. I don't know if my parents knew, since I tried not to show it - I didn't want them to get upset because I was upset.</p>
<p>It wasn't that I didn't want to go, just that I didn't want to leave everything at home behind. And that morning is just so overwhelming in so many ways.</p>
<p>But it all worked out - I am dying to go back now.</p>
<p>It all depends on the student (and a bit on how the parents handle it). Case in point: When a toddler falls down, he/she oftentimes will look at the parent to gauge the response to the fall. If the parent calmly says, "Oh, you fell down," the toddler just gets up and keeps going. If the parent gives a sharp alarmed gasp, rushes over and says, "Oh, no! Are you hurt?" the toddler will start crying and carrying on.</p>
<p>Some people are more prone to tears than other people - it just depends on how you're wired. It's OK to express emotion through tears - after all, it is the end of one chapter of life - and the beginning of a new chapter. A few tears are appropriate.</p>
<p>My mom will be bawling so seeing that will probably make me cry too. But I'll probably cry on my own.</p>
<p>I never cried when i left for college, but I did when i left college. i stayed out the entire night before graduation with my best friend roaming campus crying most of the time.</p>
<p>Fendergirl: from what I'm told, ditto for my daughter.</p>
<p>I know I will cry, and my parents may or may not. They keep telling me that i shouldn't be unhappy about going away to college, and I will be home again in a few months, I'm not really that far away anyway, etc. What they don't seem to understand is that I am not actually unhappy; in fact, I am extremely excited about the idea of starting college. Oh, well. We all cope with our changing situations in our own ways, I guess.</p>
<p>Fender, I remember when my last final was over that I was psychically numb, as if in shock. It was very strange to be on campus but to be already "gone." This was at a large state school and I imagine it would be even more intense at an LAC.</p>
<p>glad to know i'm not the only one. it was the worst feeling. the numb was the next day when I was moving out. I remember being so annoyed because my parents kept rushing me and i did not want to leave.</p>
<p>Depends. One of my close friends moved in a few weeks before me, and I met up with her when I move in, and she said something to the effect of, "Don't worry, everyone cries the first night." I don't know if she was basing this solely on her own personal experience or on the experiences of others as well (I'm not sure a bunch of relative strangers would admit to each other, yeah I cried myself to sleep last night, did you?). I never cried about it though. I'm not one to get homesick, really.</p>
<p>that's the same attitude that causes kids (well, people in general) to commit suicide rather than show their emotions with people. I suggest you all show some compassion before you regret it.</p>
<p>I cried when my oldest headed off for her senior year this morning, and so did she. I cried when my next oldest headed off to the Naval Academy 7 weeks ago and when we said goodbye again after Plebe Parent Weekend last Sunday, and so did she. I saw many choked back emotions and tears from Plebes and their parents that day. I also saw incredible pride from the flower of American youth when they reaffirmed their oath to their Constitution and their country, both from the Plebes and their parents. You just try to hold those emotions back when that "I DO" shakes the rafters!</p>
<p>"Having been appointed a Midshipman in the United States Navy, I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter, so help me God."</p>
<p>I wouldn't know because my parents were too furious to 'take' me to college. I drove twelve hours to school with a guy I just met and I was immensely relieved not to have two old people hanging around at the start of one of my biggest adventures. The parents who were there were in the way, frankly. I met my roommates parents, dumped my puny trunk of stuff and went out exploring. It was so exciting!</p>
<p>I also wouldn't know because I didn't 'take' my son to college. He travelled the 8500 miles by himself. I didn't cry at the airport but I was never one to cry at the airport. I'm too thrilled for him. I might have cried at a Plebe ceremony, I'm not sure.</p>
<p>Yes we do. Even those of us who swear we don't.</p>
<p>My older daughter spent the whole summer before freshman year telling me how happy she was to be leaving our small town and going to college. - she couldn't wait to get away. After we unloaded the car and dragged all her stuff up to her dorm room, I steeled myself for a cool and quick adieu. Imagine my surprise when <em>she</em> was the one who burst into tears! I was completely unprepared for her reaction, but it made me realize that wherever she goes and whatever she does, she'll still appreciate her dear old mum.</p>
<p>I spent that morning crying and dry-heaving, but pulled myself together once we got to campus. I didn't cry saying goodbye to my parents, but after they left I excused myself to the bathroom and shed just a few tears. I think it's very very normal for students to cry, but the excitement and thrill of the day (plus a roommate watching) tend to prevent it from lasting too long.</p>
<p>Fendergirl - I also cried leaving college for good - and suffered by far the biggest, most acute identity crisis of my life. If it wasn't for dire post-college poverty, I would have instantly applied to grad school - just to stay.</p>
<p>yes, even before they leave home...</p>
<p>Cheers, I'm curious - why were your parents "too furious" to take you to college? </p>
<p>As for us, I have only "teared up" once this summer thinking about taking D to college next week, and she's shed tears once this spring at the dinner table, sad that family meals were going to be a very missed occurrence.</p>
<p>I make no promises, however, on how weepy I'm going to be next Thursday. I think all 4 of us (son, daughter, husband and me) are going to need the kleenex, if only for a little bit.</p>
<p>nah....for some of us, its the happiest moments of our life (those of us who somehow scrambled up gas money to get there on our own, somehow have to afford everything on our own, and prey that their parents dont call begging for money non-stop)</p>