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Campus Talk

Longing to be with family is natural

By Jill Parikh

In the last 20 years of my life, I have never been away from Chicago for more than two weeks. I have also never gone without seeing my family for more than two weeks. Even when I was in college, my parents w ould always find the time to come and see me regardless of whether or not I came home for the weekend.
Now, for the first time in my life, I am facing being away from home for an extended period of time. I will be completing my Teach for America training in LA for five weeks starting the end of this month. Now I know five weeks isn’t a huge amount of time, but for me it is quite a big deal. For the last six months, I have lived at home and seen my family almost everyday. Training will be quite a change from that and it will be a difficult transition, especially because I don’t have a single friend going with me.
I know that I am old enough and mature enough to be away from home for five weeks, but I still know that I will dearly miss home. Admitting this fact, actually, is a rather big step for me. When I left for college, I thought I was all brave and would not miss my home at all. Less than two weeks into my freshman year, I caved and asked my parents to take me out for dinner.
I tried to fight this for a while, and train myself to be away from home for longer periods of time. I learned quickly though, that I am simply a more content individual when I see my family frequently. I no longer see this as a weakness, but rather as strength. My family truly is my comfort blanket, and I can’t do without them.
While I may have a hard time at training, I know that my family will also provide me with the strength to get through it. They are always there for me and I know they will find a to way support me even if it’s from across the country.

Jill Parikh is a student of journalism at Loyola University. She writes about issues of teenagers, their achievements and activities in school and their relationship with their parents.