Brooke Shields Explains Why Dropping Sophomore Kids At College Isn’t Any Easier
“I just had to wave my daughter goodbye again,” the actor said through sobs.
Something hits different about dropping kids off at college. Whether it’s the incredible milestone itself or the fact that these kids are essentially “on their own” for months, there’s something overwhelmingly emotional about children leaving the nest and heading off to go live on a college campus as opposed to just another first day of school. And wouldn’t you know it — celebrities feel it too.
Brook Shields shed tears for her daughter’s departure while recording herself in a video shared to Instagram. She explained that even though her nineteen-year-old daughter, Rowan, went back for her second year of school at Wake Forest University in North Carolina — she is still a blubbering mess.
“Turns out second time is NOT the charm when it comes to your baby going off to college. Sophomore year, here she comes. I’ll be crying if you need me…” Shields captioned the video.
In the video, Shields focuses the camera on herself moments after watching Rowan drive away to head back to school. “I just had to wave my daughter goodbye again,” she said through sniffles.
Shields tries to make sense of her emotional outburst by noting that this isn’t even the first time Rowan has left the nest, and she was living at home with her all summer long. “And I thought it would be easier the second time,” she confessed.
She also explained why she didn’t make the trek back to school with her first born. Basically, she couldn’t emotionally handle saying goodbye on campus.
“I'm not making the drive with her, she's driving with her dad, but she's taking my car which was my car as my graduation present car and so she's going to be driving that,” the actor explained. “It was just too painful. I don't think I could go through the driving away from campus again.”
Shields also shares with a message of solidarity for every parent feeling all the feels when it comes to their older kids spreading their wings and flying off without them. “ ... if there’s anybody else going through this, we’re all in it together,” she said.
Before ending the emotional confession, she explains that her tears are bittersweet. The pain every parent feels when their kids grow up and go off on their own is softened by the fact that their independence is the end goal. "Oh it's so hard, I miss her already," she said. "Our babies. This is what you want. You raise them so that they leave you."
*grabs for the tissues*
