During college, most students spend time away from their parents by living on campus or renting an apartment. However, a select few choose to shack in with their mom and dad for a couple more years.

Cana Herron wanted to take part in the full college experience, which for her included living on campus. However, after living on campus for a year-and-a-half, she decided to move back home with her parents. 

“I knew that I wanted to be on campus my first year,” she said. “Going to college you need that independence.”

Herron’s parents agreed. Her mother, Sarah Herron thought it was important for her to be on campus. 

“It was important for her to be there and learn how to function on her own in society,” she said. “When you’re the only child you tend to be spoiled, but it’s different when you living with other people who aren’t required to love you and put up with you.”

Her father, David Herron, said he wanted her to be able to think for herself.

“We just thought she needed it for growing up experience, and to make her own decisions,” he said.

Cana Herron was born and raised in Virginia, but when she was in sixth grade her family moved to Louisville. Then when she decided to go to WKU, she brought her family with her. Her mom and dad got a home in Bowling Green, 25 minutes away from WKU. She is currently a second-year senior and has one more year at WKU. 

As an only child, Cana said she was very close to her parents. However, she also knew that she wanted to experience living in a dorm. 

“Being an only child, my parents were my best friends,” she said. “But we needed to see how I would fare on my own.”

Herron lived in Bemis Lawrence Hall her first year at WKU and then in Rodes-Harlin Hall her sophomore year. She said she liked the convenience of being on campus, but there were also some disadvantages to living in the dorm though. 

“I’m a homebody, so I spent a lot of time in my dorm,” she said. “My own personal space is where I’m most comfortable. If my roommate wasn’t there I wouldn’t get social interaction.”

Things changed when, in the middle of Cana’s sophomore year, one of her friends dropped out of school. Herron, along with her parents, noticed she was spending a lot of time at home doing laundry and eating dinner. To save money, they decided it was best for her to move back home. 

“I left in the middle of my sophomore year and came back home,” she said. “I had been going home for my mom’s cooking, and I had a room there. It was just easier and cheaper.”

Sarah Herron said this decision was purely financial.

“Her second year she was coming home all the time to eat and then she would sleep over,” she said. “It was like ‘Why are we paying for this?’” 

Herron said the transition to living at home again was fairly easy. 

“I became a tad lazier,” she said. “I didn’t have to do laundry and it was basically like I had caretakers.”

However, it did prove to be somewhat of an inconvenience. 

“Finding a parking spot, and then taking the bus was inconvenient,” she said. “When I lived on campus I could walk to all my classes, walk back, and take a nap.”

She also couldn’t see her friends as much as she had when she was living on campus.

“Unless our schedules matched up to where we could get out of class and hang out then I would just go home and do homework,” she said.

Herron also said she used to be involved with Christian Student Fellowship, but the 25 minute drive to the meetings after she had already driven back and forth from school, were inconvenient.

She said living with her parents does take away some of the independence that she had when living in the dorm. 

“I am not a big partier or big social gathering type of person,” she said. “But when I lived on campus, if my roommates wanted to go to Waffle House at 2 a.m. I could go. Now, my parents would be like ‘Where are you going?’” she said, laughing. 

Her mother admitted that she can be a bit controlling. 

“I might be a little on the controlling side,” she said. “It drives me nuts when she procrastinates. We’re best friends so I know what she has coming up that’s due and I worry for both of us.”