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At long last: My parents’ first visit to Wash. U.
Throughout this year, my first at Washington University, it has been difficult to fully share my experience with my parents. They’ve never met the friends whose names I mention, attended the classes I discuss or known the pain of working in the B-stacks at 3 a.m. But given that they not only pay my tuition but also give me the support I need to make it through the day, I was eager to give them insight to the foreign life I live here, about 900 miles away from my home in Texas.
This weekend, they visited me for the first time, a sort of half-birthday, half-Easter, half-“it’s finally nice in St. Louis” spur-of-the-moment weekend trip—yes, I realize that just added up to three halves, but give me a break because I’m not a math major.
I didn’t quite know how to approach their visit as there are so many aspects of college life that will not and should not appeal to my 58-year-old parents. Here’s what we ended up doing and enjoying.
Seeing local sights
Instead of sharing my daily life, which can be pretty boring, with my parents, I decided to take advantage of their presence as a way to explore new aspects of the University and St. Louis communities. Because I have neither a car nor the time to get out, I have seen relatively little of the city I now call home for three-quarters of each year. My favorite site we visited was the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis. Home to the world’s largest mosaic installation, with 41.5 million pieces of glass, the cathedral was incredibly beautiful and very Instagrammable.
Eating delicious food
Let’s be real—eating out is half the joy of having parents or relatives visit you. Yes, I get out a couple times per week, but nothing compares. Friday morning before classes, I enjoyed a brunch at the Ritz-Carlton as opposed to the Luna Bar and large iced coffee that I traditionally slurp down while power-walking to class. Throughout the weekend, I introduced my parents to all my St. Louis favorites: Mission Taco, Drunken Fish, Pi Pizzeria and Ted Drewes. We got to enjoy delicious food, and I was also able to show them where I tend to spend time with my friends, namely the Delmar Loop and Central West End. I didn’t spend a dime eating out, and I added another 100 meal points to my significant overstock—win, win.
Introducing friends
What I was most excited for was the opportunity to introduce my best friends to my parents. Having attended a small private school in Dallas, my parents have always known all my close friends intimately, so it’s been strange for me that they have no mental image of the people whose names I mention each time I call home. I decided to invite my closest friends to dinner with my parents, and as we sat around a circular table at Drunken Fish, the conversation flowed naturally and excitedly. In short, it was a success. Also, my parents told me they were genuinely honored that I wanted to share them with my friends; evidently, they always hid their parents from their friends for fear of embarrassment—sorry, grandparents.
The weekend went by quickly, much faster than my typical weekend days pass in the solemnity of Olin. I enjoyed the intersection of the parallel lives we lead as college students. It can be strange to feel as though I have a life at home in Dallas and a completely separate life here in St. Louis. The weekend provided an opportunity to connect, and I also got a much-needed hug from my mom.