Letting Go

So I totally had today’s post written, edited and ready to go, but then life happened (as it usually does) and my plan changed. Don’t worry, you’ll still get that other post, but this one needs to come first.

How do you let go of something. I’m not talking about physically releasing something from your fingers, but emotionally letting go. How does that happen? What’s the easiest way so that everyone involved doesn’t feel like they are being deprived of something? Is it even possible? Sometimes I feel like when people say they’ve let go, they just wake up one day and decide that they have and that’s that. But I don’t feel that way.

Since I was a little girl, my mom and I have always been really close. Like she was the parent I would rather deal with. Most girls are Daddy’s girls, but that wasn’t me. I bawled my first day of pre-school and it came to the point that I refused to go if my mom didn’t accompany me. My mom was the first person I called when anything big happened to me. She was my biggest cheerleader and fan and support. And then I went away to college two weeks ago.

I don’t know what changed. I’ve gone away to school two other times, but this time seemed different. For the first time, I don’t want to talk to my mom. We fight over stupid stuff and she bugs me more than normal.

The only thing I can think of is that I’m trying to let go of the little girl I was as I try to find the adult I want to be. That’s where my question comes in. How do I grow up without making everyone think I’m totally changing? Obviously, there’s things I don’t want to do anymore and do want to change. That’s just part of growing. But how do I grow without hurting people’s feelings?

After talking with my roommate, it seems that this is not an unusual problem. She’s going through the same thing with her family. So why is everyone having a hard time letting go lately? We all knew this day would come. I’m 20 now and it just feels right. This time next year I’ll be focusing on graduation and job hunting. I think I’m ready to be an adult.

Has anyone else gone through this? How did you do it? Was anyone really hurt in the process? Let me know and I’ll share your advice in a later post!