“Pack it up, kid…” It’s time to go!

What is a young adult thinking about when he’s just a day away from moving into freshman year of college? I asked my son, Andrew, to write a guest post to give us a peak inside his brain. He unravels his web of thoughts and emotions and throws in a few Marvel references for entertainment!

**

Hey, everyone! It’s Andrew Neal,

So college… how do I describe the feeling of going to college? It is probably a little different from person to person, but for me it is a well-blended and fluctuating Symbiote that makes me feel excited and nervous throughout the day.

I will wake up and think, “Man I’m excited to go to college ’cause I’ll meet new people and make some high quality movies.” By the end of the day, when my girlfriend gets done with school and swimming practice, my emotions pull a 360 and I start panicking.

I start thinking, “Oh no! This can’t be right. I am going to miss my girlfriend and my family… Actually my sister is really loud…. Actually, yes… I will miss her a lot…. Kayla {my girlfriend} is the best… and she keeps me on top of things. Oh, man. What am I gonna do?” 

**

It’s really weird that you just got out of high school, and BOOM. “Pack it up, kid!”

Glad you passed algebra and gym class, but let’s see if you can pack all of your clothes in IKEA bags, say “See you later” to people at graduation you know you aren’t gonna see again, play Minecraft with your sister one last time for awhile, hug your girlfriend really tight, tell yourself you are too tough to shed a tear, and walk into a brand new environment.

No school or lesson program can get you ready to embark on a new quest. I guess that’s the painful beauty in it.

*

**

Ultimately, as a kid about to go to college, you gotta remain in your anxiety and the thick air your confused brain has diffused around you. You just gotta sit in the fog and talk to everyone to make the best choices and trust what you know to be true.

Going into college is something I haven’t done yet, and trying to figure out what to expect opens infinite portals of false realities I spend way too much time believing. 

*

**

For all the moms reading this, I can tell you that your son or daughter is probably just as nervous as you. They are probably unsure of what will await them in the future just like you. I guess we all need to remember we are on the same team, and when you feel trapped in the fog, do not just sit there in silence, trembling. Talk to each other, and let all the anxiety out.

One regret I have is that I tended to mentally reject I was gonna leave. If I had embraced that I was going to college sooner, I think that would have helped with all the nervous emotions. 

I hope this helped you see into my brain and heart.

See you later (maybe I’ll get to write on the blog again… I don’t know).

**

Thanks for reading! Do you have any advice or words of encouragement for Andrew as he heads off to college? Leave a comment! Or maybe just some thoughts about Symbiotes or Spiderman, in general? We would love to hear from you?

#mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; }
/* Add your own Mailchimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block.
We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */

//s3.amazonaws.com/downloads.mailchimp.com/js/mc-validate.js(function($) {window.fnames = new Array(); window.ftypes = new Array();fnames[0]=’EMAIL’;ftypes[0]=’email’;fnames[1]=’FNAME’;ftypes[1]=’text’;fnames[2]=’LNAME’;ftypes[2]=’text’;fnames[3]=’ADDRESS’;ftypes[3]=’address’;fnames[4]=’PHONE’;ftypes[4]=’phone’;fnames[5]=’BIRTHDAY’;ftypes[5]=’birthday’;}(jQuery));var $mcj = jQuery.noConflict(true);