When Moms Are Right

We’ve all been there. For whatever reason, our moms decide to throw some of their life advice at us, only for most of us to shrug it off. Next thing you know, whether it’s a day or a year later, that advice usually comes back to us after we’ve realized something we all hate to admit: Mom’s actually right.

Personally, my mom always told me to slow down while I was driving. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, “When in doubt, slow down!” and subsequently how many times I rolled my eyes. After I totaled my car from driving too fast, I started to listen to her…a little bit.

Whether we like it or not, our moms aren’t always wrong. To prove it, Valley took to the streets of Penn State to ask students about mom advice that they ignored but wished they hadn’t.

Andrea Curran, senior, says her mom tried to guide her in regards to her future in business.

“She told me to not limit my job search to just my major, she told me to be more broad,” she says. “She wanted me to try to go into marketing, finance or accounting, and lately I’ve been sticking to the one track and it hasn’t brought up a lot of results. From now on, I’m going to try to broaden my horizon and see what other kind of opportunities there are.”

As for Vanessa Taylor, junior, she thinks she should’ve listened to her mom before she moved over 1,000 miles away to go to college in Florida.

“She told me I wouldn’t end up liking it, and I didn’t end up liking it,” she says.

Moms aren’t only good for “real world” counsel. They were young once too, and can stop us from making some pretty damaging beauty mistakes. Kendyl Keesey, junior, knows she should’ve listened to her mom before trying to bleach her hair.

“My hair fell out,” she says. “Not all of it, but enough of it. I had to cut off a foot of hair. It wasn’t my best moment, but I’ve realized that there are more natural alternatives to bleaching my hair that have been better ideas.”

Moral of the story: The next time you’re about to roll your eyes when Mom tries to offer you guidance, stop and think for a second. Remember that your mom was young once, too, and made mistakes just like you. After all, she’s only trying to help you.

Who knows? Maybe this time her advice will be golden.

Photo by Brittany Trappe