"Mom! Hurry up. We're going to be late!" The sound of my converse tapping against the pavement as I wait - rather impatiently - for my mother to get in the car is my only effort to quiet my ferocious thoughts. I text her again "I don't want to miss orientation!!" I can't tell if I'm more anxious or excited at this point. I'm the first person in my immediate family to go to college, let alone Yale, so I don't know what to expect other than what I have read on blog posts since I received my acceptance email last winter. I want to make sure that I am as prepared as humanly possible. Making it to orientation is essential.

"MOM! If I have to drive myself all the way to New Haven, I will." She knows I would, too. The only thing holding me back is I would have nowhere to keep the car.

I cross my arms and lean back on the car door. I can't say I won't miss this place very much. Upstate New York has its perks. I always loved watching the seasons change, especially the fall foliage. My small farm town provided for an interesting upbringing, complete with chickens and cows as pets and local hot air balloon tours landing in my front lawn every so often. My mom wanted me to have a "relaxed" childhood, so she moved here for the fresh air and open land after growing up in the congested city. But she will forever be a city girl.

As I turn my head, I see her coming out of the house, her deep red hair reflecting purple from the sun. You could tell she's not from around here, even though we have been living here for over seventeen years. She could be a model, and you would never guess that I came from her.

"Finally! Come on, I want to get there by eleven." I give my bags a final check and hop into the passenger seat. I figured I would let my mom drop me off at college. I know she's proud and this will make her happy before she starts to cry.

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When we finally arrive, I'm barely able to take in the breathtaking campus when I am bombarded with screams. Before I can fully get out of the car, Elizabeth, my roommate is hugging me and jumping up and down, taking me with her. That's when I see two other girls standing right behind her with enormous smiles plastered on their faces. I recognize them immediately as Mariana and Lara from our almost-daily skype chats.

"Oh my gosh, HI!" Mariana skips over and squeezes me into a hug. "Isn't it great to finally meet in person?!"

"Yeah, I'm going to have to get used to talking to you without the glitches!" We all laughed as we remembered trying to bring Mariana and Lara into the group chat from Spain and Hungary. It's definitely not an easy feat trying to meet the people you're going to live with (for the next year, a least) online, especially when you're technologically illiterate like me! "I'm just happy I can finally see all of you rather than just talking heads!" Everyone starts to laugh and pal around, just like we did online over the summer. We are getting along so well, and I can tell my mom is a lot more comfortable with me living here with such nice girls.

Elizabeth looks down at her phone buzzing in her sweatshirt pocket. "Ooh! I just got a message from Maddy, she's pulling up now. Also, Char called. She'll be here in ten minutes. There's a lot of traffic between here and the airport." Charlotte flew in from Los Angeles and Maddy was from Massachusetts, not far from Boston.

All of a sudden, Elizabeth started screaming and jumping again, and I look to my left to see Maddy running straight into Elizabeth's open arms. We all exchange hugs and jokes about our memories of tumultuous efforts at skyping.

I know my mom can't stay long, so I start to unload my belongings while making an effort not to look at her face. I know for sure that she is already tearing up, and I don't want to make her more upset by crying with her. "Are you sure you don't want me to stay and help you unpack?" She tried to sound calm in between tears. "Don't worry about that Mom, I don't want you to miss more work. It's bad enough you had to keep the salon closed all morning because of me." I still try to hold back my own tears. It upsets me that my mom is going to be alone, and I don't want her to worry about me on top of that.

Next thing I know, Elizabeth comes up from behind me and places her arm tight around my waist. Perfect timing. "By the way, that's what roommates are for. Trust me, we're going to have loads of fun unpacking, decorating, and fighting over beds..." I look up at her, rolling my eyes at her joke that probably just freaked my mom out. "Just kidding! We are going to have a great time."

Before the first tear could roll down my face, I lunged into my mom's arms and gave her a parting hug. I did not want this to feel final, for both of our sakes. I know she is feeling this now, but in the back of my head, I know this will hit me tonight. "I love you so much, Mom."

"I love you too. I am so proud of you, you don't even know." I walked her to the door of the car. "By the way, I tucked your kit into your suitcase. I know you didn't want to bring it, but I figured you could possibly make some extra money. You know, buy books, food, whatever you want. I feel horrible that I don't have more to give you for extras. I know the work-study program doesn't nearly cover everything, and I want you to have fun and enjoy yourself - when you're not studying of course." She looked at me and smirked. I wasn't the type of kid who went to football games and parties in high school. She knows how serious I am about my grades.

"Mom, the type of people that go here don't do that kind of thing. I want to try to fit in as much as I can. I appreciate what you do for me so much. But seriously, don't worry about the money. I'll figure it out, and I promise I will try to have fun." She smiled more with my last assurance before she leaned in to kiss me on the forehead.

I blew her a kiss and waved as she slowly drove away.

Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to read my work. I hope you like it!

I plan on updating every Friday.

I would love to hear from you in the comments and will try to respond to all of them.

This is the first time I'm sharing my work, so any and every comment and vote is appreciated. I am open to helpful advice and constructive criticism, predictions, questions, etc., even if it has nothing to do with the story and you just want to know more about me.

I only ask that you please be respectful to everyone in the comments and to please not copy my work.

Once more, thank you, and I hope I see you again next week!

*I do not own the Yale campus photo.  This is the link for that photo: https://your.yale.edu/work-yale/employment

*I do not own the gif fromThe Office . This is the link for that gif: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/15-times-office-summed-your-sunday-feelings

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