Zaya Wade Explains Why Being Away From Parents Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union Is Both “Really Hard” and “Freeing”

The Gist

• Zaya Wade opened up about college life in a new interview, including what it’s like being away from home.

• “Being away from your parents is hard,” she said.

• The 19-year-old student added, “But also it’s exciting, and it’s fun, and it’s freeing.”

While Zaya Wade is enjoying her first year of college, she’s still missing her dad, Dwyane Wade, and her stepmom, Gabrielle Union.

“Being away from your parents is hard,” Zaya told E! News at the Translatable Ball on May 30. “It’s really hard, but also it’s exciting, and it’s fun, and it’s freeing, and I think I’ve learned to get out of my shell a lot more and be more sociable.”

About the fun, social aspect of being in college, Zaya, who turned 19 on May 29, continued, “I feel like I can go up to people that I’ve never met and just strike up a conversation, and I think I’m just starting to connect with people more, and I think that’s what college is about.”

Although she has not publicly revealed where she’s going to school, Union previously told People that she was studying science.

“She’s found other people who are just as into research and data and astrobiology,” she said. “She’s working with some of the world’s leading biologists, so she’s very, very happy where she’s at.”

The model and activist also shared the advice her NBA legend father gave her about being away at school.

“My dad told me not to mess it up, that he is paying tuition, and it is expensive,” she said. “And I would hope that I am doing that.”

She also said that she’s been learning more about herself while in college.

“I’m just trying to focus on doing my classes, but also having fun and understanding more about myself as I’m growing into my individuality as an adult.”

Read the original article on InStyle