“Yo Momma is so old…She’s so old that she has a son in college!”
^That, my friends, is the worst “Yo Momma” joke ever written. Like what? Who even thought to say this? First of all, my mom isn’t even old. Second of all, just no. But still, I always found ‘Yo Momma’ jokes to be hilarious, or at least interesting. If anything, they always make you think about your mother, even if it’s just for a moment.
The first three weeks at Yale may have been the happiest three weeks of my life. I met friends, ate my first Wenzel, danced the “Wobble” and the “Wop”, started learning Portuguese, wrote poetry, auditioned for plays, performed in talent shows, slept through brunch, danced some more, applied for jobs, lost my cellphone, got a new cellphone, decorated my room, ran for student government, wrote a paper, got cast in a show, discovered that Gheav is open for 24 hours, began working in the J.E. Buttery, etc. etc. etc. I was so swept up in the Yale magic that I realized one Sunday night that I hadn’t called home in almost a month. It was too late to call that night so I promised myself that I’d call tomorrow. I said that the next few days too…
Sometimes it can be way too easy to get so stuck in the present moment, so trapped thinking about the future that you can forget where you came from. That midterm tomorrow, the show next week, the rehearsal all night— that can seem to be everything. But, what you have to remember is that college is just as much of a transition for you leaving home as it is for the home you left. I finally called my mom at some ungodly hour. When she picked up, I could almost smell the soul food through the receiver. I felt the first 18 years of my life in the sound of her hello. We didn’t talk for long, but it was everything we both needed.
^In case you were wondering, that’s me with the cornrows and the orange jacket. Can’t forget where you started.
Yale can easily fill all 24 hours of a day. The blessing of this is that there is never a dull moment. But, it can be easy to lose touch with home. I’ll admit that I do not call home nearly as much as I should. It can be tough, it really can. But still, something I’ve noticed is that things don’t change nearly as much as you think when you’re not there. Friends from home will stay just that. Family will always be family. Yale will certainly add to that, but don’t let it subtract anything either. What I’m getting at is this: whenever you go away, wherever you go, please please please call home, like once a week at least (My mom and I now talk every Sunday night to reflect on Game of Thrones.) It can be hard to remember to call. It might even be stressful too, but chances are that you’ll put a smile on someone’s face. And if there is something that I want to have accomplished once leaving Yale, it is just that.
