<\/p>\n
Zaya Wade shared some insight into her life away at college<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
While chatting with E! News<\/em>, the teenager admitted that being away from her parents, Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union, is “hard,” but also “exciting”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n During the conversation, Zaya also shared some of the advice her dad gave her<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Zaya Wade<\/a> is sharing some insight into her life away at college.<\/p>\n While chatting with E! News<\/em><\/a> at the second annual ball for Translatable<\/a>, a non-profit organization started by the 18-year-old and her dad, Dwyane Wade<\/a>, to create a safe space for LGBTQIA+ youth, Zaya opened up about her first year at college. The teenager, who’s a freshman, admitted that being away from her parents \u2014 Gabrielle Union<\/a>, 53, and the former NBA star, 44 \u2014 is “hard.”<\/p>\n \u201cBeing away from your parents is hard,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s really hard, but also it\u2019s exciting, and it\u2019s fun, and it\u2019s freeing and I think I\u2019ve learned to get out of my shell a lot more and be more sociable.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I feel like I can go up to people that I\u2019ve never met and just strike up a conversation,\u201d she added. \u201cI think I\u2019m just starting to connect with people more, and I think that\u2019s what college is about, just connection.\u201d<\/p>\n Zaya also shared some of the advice that her dad gave her before heading off to college.<\/p>\n \u201cMy dad told me not to mess it up, that he is paying tuition, and it is expensive,” she shared jokingly of her dad’s advice. “And I would hope that I am doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n “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,” she continued. “But really just taking the time to understand the difference between school me and friend me and real me and just really enriching all of my individual experiences. I think that’s what they wanted for me, just to be a more encompassed version of myself.”<\/p>\n Union recently caught up with PEOPLE for a recent PEOPLE 10 in 10 interview, and shared that Zaya is currently \u201cvery, very happy\u201d pursuing her love of science.<\/a><\/p>\n “She\u2019s found other people who are just as into research and data and astrobiology,\u201d the doting mom shared.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m gonna say that [Dwyane and I] probably failed in that department,\u201d she jokingly added. \u201cBecause she would say things and we\u2019re like [nods head], and I\u2019m just trying to Google under the table \u2014 I have no idea what [she\u2019s] talking about.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for<\/strong> PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/strong><\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s working with some of the world\u2019s leading biologists,” Union added. “So she\u2019s very, very happy where she\u2019s at.”<\/p>\n