Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

ALBORNOZ: The Luxury of Parental Guidance

bebeOnly through my parents’ sacrifices am I able to go to Georgetown, to have clothes for each season of the year and to afford meals all week long. And yet out of all the things they provide, the greatest luxury I have ever known is their unconditional love. Since December 17, 1992, I have never had to live without it.

I’m known for leaving Lau at self-imposed time intervals to call my mom. Our level of contact might sound excessive, but it works for me. I feel entirely independent and confident in my decisions, but I take a certain comfort sharing them with my mother. The way I see it, my parents have never failed to give themselves to my brother or me, so if I can do the same for them in some small way, I try to.

My relationship with them is, of course, not always seamless. There are the hurdles of homework, the strain of stress and the irreverence of independence that I, ike many of us here, grapple with. I sometimes ask myself: How much is too much? When do I cut the cord?

While I joke about an extendable leash my parents still hold on to, I have found that the more I mature, the more I recognize the importance of maintaining ties with my biggest supporters and my best friends. In fact, I believe that the more independent we become, the more we must depend on those who love us.

Our greatest sense of self comes from a deep understanding of the people and places we come from. I have become more aware of my own identity by accepting the parts of my parents’ personalities that manifest themselves in me. I am more of my own person when I recognize these reflections, because then, I can also identify what sets me apart. My own consciousness, voice, appearance, character, resolve and interests make me Bebe: a character unique to the world around me.

Our careers here at Georgetown are a lot like those growth charts our parents marked with pencils on the walls of our childhood homes. When we stiffen our backs against the wall, we don’t immediately recognize any change, but as we step further away from it, we begin to admire how much we have grown over a seemingly small interval of time. I find that when I not only reflect on my own personal growth but also acknowledge the shoulders of giants on which I have stood, I can appreciate my stature all the more. I find myself rolling my shoulders back and standing up even straighter.

This postural metaphor is not meant to be instructive of one, specific kind of relationship with parents, nor is it meant to sound like the lyrics of Josh Groban’s “You Raise Me Up.” Parental relationships come in innumerable forms, and none are less meaningful for their difference. For some, it can be easier to appreciate their origins more from a distance. Nonetheless, whether we come from California or 20 minutes down Canal Road, as Georgetown students, our common condition is the love and appreciation we share for others. More often, those others are and should be the people who gave and continue to give us life.

As I stay up late at night to finish an assignment, or as I groggily pull out clothes to wear in the morning, I don’t often remember the times my parents cooed me back to sleep as a baby crying in the middle of the night or the countless times they changed my diaper. Instead, I’m usually thinking about myself: how I feel, how enticing sleep is or how my outfit matches.

But sometimes, in those rare moments of introspection, I see my parents’ reflection in the mirror of my soul and remember that as far as my metaphorical leash extends, they have never let me go. As often as I leave them behind, they have always stood behind me. And that is the greatest luxury I can ever know.

Bebe Albornoz is a senior in the College. Through the Hoya Lens appears every other Tuesday.

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