Mother Sent a Selfie From Her Daughter’s Dorm Room and Soon Realizes Her Surprising Mistake

Deanna Pilling was forced to do one of the hardest things she’d ever done in her life—let her daughter McKenna go. It wasn’t easy, but she knew it was time for her little girl to leave her home in New York City so she could go to college at Utah State University.

But then Deanna did something unexpected that rocked both of their worlds.

When McKenna got the text from her mother that she was at her campus, she was shocked because her mom gave her no prior warning that she was visiting. It shocked her even more when the next text she got from her mother was a selfie that simply said, “Look where I am!”

Like Mother, Like Daughter

McKenna Pilling and her mother Deanna were as close as mother and daughter could be before McKenna left to go to college in 2015.

This would be her daughter’s first time away from home, and away from her parents, in her life and Deanna sometimes worried about whether she’d be able to make this transition work.

She Was a Wild Soul

McKenna was a smart girl with a good head on her shoulders, and above all, she knew what was important to her. Those things included her family, her faith and her drive for being a good person who helps other.

Deanna knew this about her daughter, but she wasn’t always sure if she was the best role model.

They Had an Unbreakable Bond

McKenna and Deanna had a few things in common including their tenacity and humor, but Deanna knew that there were a few things that she hoped her daughter didn’t inherit, including her scatterbrained tendencies and forgetfulness.

And when McKenna left for college, Deanna had a few other worries, too.

They Had a Tight-Knit Family

While McKenna grew up, she was very close to both of her parents and she cared a lot for her friends. But most parents fear that their kids may forget their social tendencies and become alienated when they first go to college for the first time, and Deanna and her husband had these worries too.