Unpopular Opinion: I’m excited for my daughter to leave for college

Unpopular opinion: I am genuinely, completely, and totally excited for my daughter to leave for college.

Senior year is full of “lasts” - last dances, last performances, last Spring break together. And I know the cultural script says I’m supposed to be quietly (or not so quietly) heartbroken. But here’s the thing: I’m not.

Years ago I called my mom after watching so many moms fall apart as their kids left for college or missions. I asked her: Were you sad when I left? She answered without hesitation: Not at all. I was so happy for you.

That moment changed how I see all of this.

Because the sadness in these moments? I think it’s ours. It’s about what we’re losing, not what they’re gaining. And I don’t want to make her launch about me.

What if we chose differently? What if every “last” was actually the first chapter of the life we have been preparing her whole life for?

I want to be one voice among many that says: you don’t have to grieve this season. You’re allowed to feel proud and full and excited. You’re allowed to let your joy for them be bigger than your sadness for yourself.

Family changing is not family ending. It is family growing into something even more beautiful.

This is not the end of anything. It’s the beginning of the rest of your life!