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Whew! Your parents are finally gone! You eyeball the boxes and suitcases all around you as you plop down on the bed. This is college, kiddo, and you've got a dorm room all to yourself! You expected to feel a sense of relief that you're finally here; and maybe even a little nervousness. So why are you feeling so mad instead? And how come your parents are getting the brunt of your anger?

College is a new and exciting chapter in your life. You're about to make new friends, gain experiences, and discover what it's like to be your own person. They'll be no mom to get you up in the morning and no dad to badger you to do your homework or be in at a certain time. With all this new freedom, shouldn't you be feeling close to awesome? You aren't though, not yet anyway. Right now, you're pretty confused.

Thought your family would never leave today, didn't you? Dad just had to have that final talk about "grades before boys" before he left. Never mind that it was the the third time this month. All that stuff about getting your priorities in order and remembering that your studies have to take precedence over everything else; it made you mad, didn't it?

As if that wasn't enough, your mom hovered, sniffling intermittently, while pleading with you to come home for the holidays. Mom still thinks of you as her "little girl." Letting go may be the hardest of all, for her. Maybe you aren't too proud of the way you acted either. Giving her the, "don't call me, I'll call you," routine and then rolling your eyes wasn't one of your finest moments, now was it? Maybe this is the time to keep in mind that the person doing the "leaving" usually finds it much easier to deal with the separation than those who are being left behind.

As you settle into college life, you may continue to struggle with a mixed bag of emotions. Being mad at your parents may be one of them. It's a pretty common reaction for a lot of college freshman.

Though you are experiencing some genuine frustration right now because of the high drama of leaving home, there are probably other feelings that you haven't identified yet. If you're cool with being honest about your emotions, you'll get through the adjustment of settling into college without experiencing a lot of recurring anger. But if you aren't comfortable with some of your new feelings, "mad" can become an easy mask to cover up what's really inside. And what is really inside? Studies show that college students who find themselves frequently mad at their parents

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