was i wrong?
 

ok so i need some advice....
i have a friend who is studying abroad in paris....and i wanted to go visit. so i did. but i got so caught up in my life and shit that i did not mentin it to people. then it was so close that i thought i would be totally random to get away to paris and not have anyone know....
so while all my friends were taking finals, and my parents thought i was in sd studying, i had actually snuck away to europ.
anyway, my parents did not know, and they randomly found out....is it bad that i left san diego and went to paris fpr a week without anyone knowing?

I wish I could do something like that! I wouldn't tell anyone either.

Brother, Its not that bad, but it is a bit irresponsible. Someone needs to know where you are in case something happens. Also, I'm assuming that you had no finals. At this point, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it, but I wouldn't do that again.

You're not going to like this, but yes, you needed to let your parents (I assume that they're your next of kin?) know that you were leaving the country. Put yourself in their shoes - what if they had gotten a call that their son's plane was hijacked? Do you want to be responsible for their emotional distress?

And yes, I took off once without telling anyone - to a job interview in another state. The person interviewing me scolded me for not telling my next of kin! Granted, I had worked there before, so I knew the interviewer, but he did have a point.

At the least, you probably should have let your parents (or GF) know. But beyond them, ehh, no one needs to know.

So did you have a nice time?? :)

You should have told your parents. I had this situation with my mother. She told me that she wants to know when I leave the state just in case something happens.

Did you bring them back some good presents from Paris? That could help smooth things over.

I don't think you were wrong (kinda harsh word) but I think you should have let the parents know, especially with the dangers of Americans travelling out of the country nowdays. But things worked out OK, so don't sweat it.

Aside from that, what an adventurous thing to do!!!! Wish I could do that, but I'd be too scared of my mom finding out I kept it from her!!!

Not the end of the world but next time make sure that someone at home has a copy of the info page of your passport and make sure that person has a valid passport. If you get in trouble though, the American embassy can probably do more for you than anyone at home.

Hope you had a good time!

You didn't do anything wrong assuming you are a legal adult. I am not sure what the other people are getting at . . .

Was it important that his parents know in case . . what he died in paris? They would geta notice lol . . or there was an emergency? They would geta phone call . . Damn, you guys are a little . . circumscribed aren't you?

He is a legal adult he did nothing wrong . . he owes no explanation . . . If he wanted to he could leave word with people. . he chose not to. I respect that. He didn't even tell us.

Personally I think it will be one of those stories your parents will laugh about in a few years, you'll tell until you're 80, and never regret.




But if I was your mom I'd shoot you.
(ETA: At this point in my life I'd be one of the ppl telling you how kick ass I think it is you did it.)

What if THEY had been killed in an accident or something.
You would never forgive yourself (I would think).

Actually, the concept is really cool, but the reality of it borders on dangerous.

I think it would really bother me on so many levels if one of mine did that...they may have and I just don't know. I gotta go with all the reasons listed as to why it was not the BEST idea. I hope you had fun though. Just wondering-Did you think about it at all during the trip or were you able to just have a good time without guilty feelings? That's the hard part!;)

Remember, Parents always find out :D

I did a out of state one time and did not tell them. They found out and it really made me feel bad that I did not tell them. Reason I didnt was figured they would say no.

I too hope you had a Fantastic time but next time, I suggest you let them know!:)

I used to do stuff like that back in my day............In high school after I got my car, I had a tendency to take off for a few hours at a time and not tell them where I was going, after they realized that threats and punishments were useless for the most part they bought me a pager so they could find me.......then I graduated high school and my friends went off to college and i got forced to attend the community college in my hometown.........since i was there and my friends were elsewhere i would take off on weekend trips around the state to see people occassionally i wouldnt tell the parents where I was going because I didnt want to hear lectures.........But they always found out and I always got the lectures anyway :(

so yeah....i should have told them, but i still like the idea of not. anyway, i did tell one of my best friends from high school, and who still lives at home, about it and all my flight info just in case.

and yeah...i had a blast. paris was so much fun. it was the off season so there wasnt a ton of tourists, and it was christmas so the whole city was drcorated....so amazing.

the only bad thing was that my armani jacket got stolen at a club...but oh well, i made it better by geting a new diesel watch.

oh yeah... tom: you are so right! even before my parents actuall found out my mom suspected i wasnt in sd.

Not really! When I study abroad in Rome this past summer, I went all over the Italy and Europe (8 countries total), while my parents thought I was in Rome all the time.

They haven't found out yet, and I have no intention to tell them, either. If I say something to them, they will have heart attack, since they think everybody outhere is terrorist and about to kill me. Anyhoo ... :D