<p>centh-
Thank you for the ecouragement because I do get down over it. My son is a junior–so not much time left. We have done all kinds of things to motivate him. Recently he told me that after high school he was going to join the marines. That scares me but I will support him if he still wants to do that after investigating the service.</p>
<p>My brother did not go to college and works successfully in construction. It broke my dad’s heart and now my brother says that he wishes he had gone, but he owns a house and a truck and is doing well.</p>
<p>I just returned to the full time work force and make almost twice what my brother makes and I get benefits (he gets medical and retirement–no sick days, no vacation, no holidays) and that is a demonstration of what college and grad school can do for you. </p>
<p>Am I happier than my brother–maybe maybe not.</p>
<p>My brother barely passed HS. Went to cc and quit. Got a full time job at 19. Something clicked and he got his BA at nights on the company while working. Has just retired to a life of travel and leisure at the ripe old age of 55. Late bloomer.</p>
<p>Friend’s kid just made it out of HS with a 2.0, decided he wanted the “arts.” Mom went with him to meet with a college counselor and to plead his case for admission to a local state college that was known to admit artsy types. Unbelievable to her he was admitted, graduated in 4 years, and now equally unbelievable to Mom, kid is attending a very good law school.</p>
<p>I have a close friend whose stepson was a diffident high school student. Parents divorced at a difficult age for him (not that there’s an easy age) and he just drifted a little. Started college at a branch public university, and gradually started to get re-motivated. After a year he transferred to the state flagship. He’s now starting his residency in pediatrics.</p>
<p>I think you will find many, many such stories. Honestly, it just takes longer for some kids to get their bearing.</p>
<p>I love this thread, and all the reminders that there are many many many paths to a happy/successful life (and really when you look back, most paths are pretty darn crooked!).</p>
<p>Just as getting into school “X” is not a ‘ticket’ to anywhere in and of itself, neither is being off or going off the beaten path determining one’s future. </p>
<p>Lots of kids take awhile to bloom or their minds/bodies are busy growing in other ways before they have a chance to find the path that is right for them. The teenage years are so often just not predictive of the adult years.</p>