Like most people, I love my parents. That being said, would I trade out my roommates with my parents right now and live exactly the life I live here in Champaign? Probably not. First of all, my mother doesn’t fancy flags and liquor bottles as décor. Contrary to differences in interior design taste, as of 2016, more young people are living with their parents longer, mostly in a fiscally responsible attempt to save as much money as possible. Now, living expenses are rising, and the job market is more unpredictable than ever. Even you, soon-to-be graduate from a prestigious school, may find yourself in a predicament in which it is just more fiscally plausible to move back in with your parents. But maybe this hypothetical situation isn’t as bad as you make it out to be. Perhaps, just perhaps, there is something to gain and learn from moving back in with the ex-empty nesters.

Whatever your status as a graduate or student means about your future housing status, there’s something to take away from your parents’ support, the good and the bad. There are things you will miss about independence when you’re with your parents, and there are things you will miss about your parents’ home when you are on your own. Use what you don’t enjoy about one situation to appreciate the other.

The downfalls of living with your parents become clear in high school and increasingly apparent as you return home throughout college. There is an everlasting struggle for independence that begins in high school, as you start to feel like an adult but are treated like what you still are — a minor. You begin to feel like you are being stripped of your independence and then bam you’re off to college to choose what they call a major. This timing is the perfect example of nature taking its course. But that is perfectly ok. My parents and I butt heads. We disagree. I get aggravated because they aren’t woke enough. These things happen.

Life often teaches us two lessons at once, double-edged swords if you will. True, being away at school has taught you to appreciate your independence, but it has also opened your eyes to the immense benefits of going home every once and a while. You’re telling me I can go from considering a Kraft single on a piece of cheese a proper nightly nourishment to gourmet meals every night? Most other parents I’ve met share this passion for feeding. One day, you will live and love to feed, but for now, just enjoy being the beneficiary. Is this passion for filling stomachs a redeeming quality for their loud morning antics that seemingly always wake you up at the crack of dawn? Actually, yeah. Food is one of life’s greatest gifts, and any opportunity someone gives you to enjoy that for free, should be appreciated. Even if you kick in for groceries at your house, any amount your family is saving you is something to be grateful for. You can show your appreciation by making the absolute most out of your parents’ help in life. 

Rather than being upset that you are at home, save up and invest money, time and energy to your career goals. It’s best to look at living at your parents as both an opportunity to embrace gratitude and smash some food.

Matthew is a senior in AHS.

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