Quite Thought Full

Welcome to Duquesne, Class of 2016!

Before the wonderful college lessons begin to take place inside and outside of the classroom, there is one little thing you have to do …

Say goodbye to Mommy.

I know it is a difficult task. When the apron strings are cut, as the saying goes, it can be hard for both mother and child.

My freshman year involved me accepting the dreadful facts that no one cooks as well as my mother, cleans as thoroughly as my mother and gives hugs like my mother.

Move-in itself involved the freshman orientation team ripping me from my mother’s arms so quickly that she immediately broke down in the St. Ann’s parking lot. Whoever the nice man was who calmed her down underneath a tree while my brother and my dad stood dumbfounded, she is eternally grateful to you. As for the orientation team … she cringed a bit when she saw this year’s orientation team moving you all in.

If your move to Duquesne requires you to move anywhere from 10 minutes away from home to 10 hours away from home, it means that you won’t be home for dinner every night, Mom won’t be able to wake you the necessary four times before you actually get up and Dad (yes, he’s included in this farewell too) won’t be able to slip you $20 whenever you’re heading out.

But wait. Take a second to stop and look around and realize that being away from your parents also means that you can do what you want, when you want, with you who want and how you want.

Of course, all actions should be “Duquesne-able” and within both state and city laws. We wouldn’t want you to be in the first write up of the year for Uncle PB.

Now you can go to bed whenever you want. Stay out as late as you want with who you want. Do your homework, if at all, when you want. And you can enjoy Towers’ lovely pizza bar every single night if you want. We at The Duke aren’t encouraging you to test all of your boundaries at once, though. Believe us, that pizza bar sounds great in theory, but not every night.

Something else to keep in mind is that you now have one or two or maybe even three people who will be also affected by your living habits.

They're called your roommates.

Whether you knew your roommates prior to moving to Duquesne or they are new people you the University chose for you, coming in at three in the morning on a Tuesday night is not a great way to get on their good side. Your roommates will not be too thrilled if you are a general slob, blasting music at all hours or inviting friends over unexpectedly either.

Learning how to be considerate of your roommate or roommates is another part of saying goodbye to the comforts of home. Unfortunately for you, there is no way that  your roommate is going to pick up after you like your parents might have.

College is a chance to do things without your parents’ permission, but more importantly it is your chance to step up and take on the responsibilities of living on your own. And living well on your own, if you choose to do so.  

That choice involves managing your time well for studies and friends, eating right, cleaning up after yourself and calling home once in awhile to ease your parents’ worry and show that you aren’t completely enthralled in the pleasures of not having them around.


Katie Walsh is a senior English and philosophy major and can be reached at walshk2@duq.edu.