The scene usually opens with a group of two or more people at a food vendor on campus. The first person orders an excessive amount of food, and the next person or persons complete their order, too.
When it comes time to pay, the first person busts out their NCard and treats their cohort by paying for their food. “Gee, thanks!” they say. The spender then replies with something along the lines of, “Oh, no problem. But don’t thank me, thank my parents; they pay my bills.”
While nowadays it boggles my mind that people can so shamelessly “use” their parents, I was not always perfect either. Freshman year, I paid for basic amenities and snacks, but I basically had a whole paycheck to burn on random toys. I had little grasp on what it meant to pinch pennies and fully appreciate what I have.
As I have ventured through most of my undergrad courses and continue to be more and more independent of my parents, I have become increasingly grateful for what they have done for me over the years, financial or otherwise. I feel forever indebted to what they have done for me in my life, and I do not think I express that to them enough.
My mom is someone I can call and spend an hour talking to. We have very similar humor types and can die of laughter talking about the weirdos we ran into during the week. She is an excellent cook and is my adviser on how to approach a meal any time I want to tackle something new.
She and I both love to party by nature, and I sometimes ask her when we will finally get to be beer pong partners. It is obviously good-natured and humorous, but why can’t a mother-son bonding experience be a drinking game?
On the other hand, I show similarities to my dad at school and in general lifestyle. He and I share very similar conservative viewpoints. He is why I am a fishing nut to the point that I am pursuing my bachelor’s in fisheries and wildlife and tie feathers and hair to a hook, an art known as fly-tying. He is a successful manager, and helps me hone my skills in the professional world. He serves as my legal aid when I do something stupid.
Of course, as a father, he has full right to call me a dumbass when something happens like getting my laptop stolen from my house while I am at home, but he always gives me reasonable and calm counsel.
Together, they raised other qualities in me for which I am thankful. Though I could work harder on my faith, I am proud to tell people I am Catholic, and I always wear my cross on full display. They taught me that family and friends are important, but so is independence.
At the end of the day, you are responsible for you, and letting others manage your own life is impractical and unfulfilling.
One thing I love about my parents was what they didn’t do when they were raising me. They were never controlling of my choices, and always allowed me to figure life out on my own if that was the path I wanted to choose.
The traits that have had a profound impact on who I am today can be positively reciprocated too. As my interest in bird identification has increased from zero to overboard in the past two years, my parents have begun showing an interest as well. Some of it might be force-fed, like when I bought my dad a Nebraska bird identification book for his birthday, but it is something that I am happy to see my parents taking interest in and enjoying with me.
So Mom and Dad: thank you. If you don’t fully know I am thankful for all these things, hopefully you do now to some greater extent. I may never fully be able to explain to you why I like wearing cowboy boots, why I listen to excessive amounts of country music or how my dialect has become so “Nebraskan” over the years, but at least I know where some of my “craziness” has come from (kidding on the craziness).
Josh Loomis is a senior Fisheries and Wildlife major. Reach him at joshloomis@dailynebraskan.com.
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