Dear Kid,

What do you have planned for the weekend?

Probably some of your friends would answer “nuthin’” or “I dunno” to that question. (I have no doubt that you have an entire weekend filled with hard core studying and quality time with friends.)

There is nothing wrong with some alone time. Time to relax, send your brain cells on a short vacation, enjoy a football game on TV, or catch up on important cat videos. I happen to think alone time is really important.

Everyone has a different amount of alone time. For some people, 30 seconds of alone time is too much. For others, several hours a week is just a start.

The thing about college is you get to experiment with the right amount of alone time. Which is fabulous.

You also get to experiment with new kinds of activities. Whether it’s going to a college football game, volunteering for a service organization, having coffee with a new friend, taking up an intramural sport, or learning a new activity (paddle boarding anyone??), college campuses offer all sorts of opportunities to get involved.

So enjoy your alone time. But take advantage of the new, interesting, and different activities (and people) you find at college.

Love, Mom