The thought of Parents Weekend has been looming over my head for weeks. Here's a preview of what introductions are going to be like for me: I'll turn to my roommates and say, "I'd like you to meet my family. This is my mom, my dad, my step-mom, my step-dad, my brother, my half-brother, and my half-sister." Your family might take even longer.
For most Bowdoin students, whether you are an upperclassmen or a first-year, Parents Weekend can be an unsettling experience. Yeah, it's nice seeing mom and dad at first, and eating off campus at a nice restaurant is a great idea, but a few hours after that Friday night meal, you may ask yourself, "When did they say they were going home?" Yes, they probably pay for most of your tuition, but this is your turf, and having them there can be a nerve-racking experience.
Introducing your "freaky family" to all of your friends, spending the day giving them tours, and eating too many meals to count at Sea Dog can become tiring at the least. For me, the thought of what Parents Weekend was going to be like this year was enough to make me cringe. Not only would mom and dad be showing up on campus for all of the festivities, but so would an extended family superstructure of step-these and half-thats. After the lengthy introductions, you have to monitor the group. Parents and families don't admit it, but they are high-maintenance.
We all have insecurities about letting our parents into our "college life." Fathers will act over-eager or, worse, try to act cool around your friends, mothers will act over-protective, or worse, squeeze off some quick-fire criticism about one of your friends. First years are nervous about introducing their new friends to their parents, praying to God they don't say something embarrassing, while others are anxious about meeting their boyfriend or girlfriend's parents, or what to do with the 'rents if this is their fourth Parents Weekend and there's nothing left to see. The result of all this? Long awkward silences. Of course, there will be some of us, but not many, who are genuinely excited to see parents whom they haven't seen in a whole month.
You have to keep in mind, though, that even when you think you have the freakiest family, or the weirdest, most dysfunctional family, there is always somebody out there who has it worse. Fortunately, for me, I have had to deal with multiple parental and sibling introductions my whole life, so this is nothing new. However, a whole weekend, with the entire crew, sounds like a lot. So, it's probably best to just embrace them and remember that this weekend only comes along once a year.
Try this: while you guide your parents (no matter how many you have) through the library for the third time that day, just take a deep breath, and remember that by 4 p.m. or so on Sunday, they will be driving away from campus, while you return to what may start to feel like a blissful, normal campus life.