<p>I thought I had bookmarked the thread from last year where people had written what they wrote to their child leaving for college. Of course, now I can't find the thread or my notes.... :D</p>
<p>I would appreciate help in finding this thread- or if that won't work, maybe other's thoughts on things to say to our children before they go off to learn from their mistakes......</p>
<p>Right now I'm so excited for my son- he's off to discover who he will be in his life- without the distraction of his parents. So far he is an excellent young man- thoughtful, kind, caring. An old soul in an 18 year old body.</p>
<p>I want to say this to him but I also want to leave him some words of wisdom. </p>
<p>Any advice from those who've "been there, done that, and got the t-shirt"?</p>
<p>I had something in mind but when it came to actually writing the words, my mind went blank. This will help me say what I would like- a mix of we love you and we’ll miss you along with college is like a halfway house- this is your time to explore and create a new you- as long as you stay true to your inner self.</p>
<p>Now let’s hope I can get it written within the next 24 hours!</p>
<p>Hi,
I had seen some of these on CC and thought they were a lovely idea. But as a mom I knew I would have a hard time avoiding little nagging advice stuff (clean your sheets, balance your checkbook) so I asked my H to write it. He is absent a lot–travel, workaholic–but cares deeply for the children. We had talked a lot about what we loved about our S, what worried us about him, and what our hopes were. We were particularly worried about him leaving with the impression that he had to meet our expectations of “success” (he wants to study art, we are type A professionals in quantitative fields…go figure the genetics behind that–we try to be supportive but some things he chooses to do we just don’t fully appreciate or understand).</p>
<p>We speak spanish at home so I can’t share the letter, but I think each one is very personal anyway. So H wrote about these main themes…what we were proud of (his kindness, his creativity, his gentleness and loyalty to his little sister as well as friends and extended family); H also shared our principal worries–S will stop speaking spanish, will manage his time poorly and neglect his health for his art. But the sweetest part that I hope S will remember was that H reminded him to set his own expectations and measures of success and happiness and not try to meet what he knows or imagines are our hopes or expectations for him.</p>
<p>He did put in a saying that I hope will be a mantra for my son…"Espero que saques todo el jugo de la experiencia de estar en XYZ universidad, y que xyz unversidad no saque todo el jugo de t</p>