deleted
Good luck to your daughter on her exams. My son felt like things went pretty well on his AP Human Geo exam. He didn’t prepare as much as we would have liked but I think he was helped by the fact he loves the subject.
He has 2 more AP exams next week, several projects to finish and a lot of work that is due in a week.
He only has to wear his sling for his broken collarbone for the next 2 weeks but no playing soccer until end of July. So some summer plans have been upended. Trying to figure out how much he can do while his collarbone is healing.
1 Like
D24 thought she did well on the APUSH exam yesterday. Monday is AP Calculus exam. She had a McDonalds interview yesterday which went well and has a follow up interview with the general manager this morning.
8 Likes
That is great news!
D24 got the job. Goes to orientation on 5/30 and starts 5/31. Told her I was proud of her. She said, “It’s not like it’s any big accomplishment. They’ll hire anybody with a pulse.”
True. But it’s good life experience. 
9 Likes
Congratulations, to her! My first job was at McDonald’s, too. “Hi! Welcome to McDonald’s! May I please take your order?” Fond memories of the drive-thru…
2 Likes
Congratulations to your DD, @sbinaz! It will be a good experience and once she gets her first paycheck, she’ll appreciate it! Good luck to her on her AP exams.
We have visited more schools this spring. DS24 knows the schools he is applying to and has a top three. His first choice school has dropped down the list, I think. Busy spring schedule with his sport, SAT class, and prom. He is also starting to look for a job.
3 Likes
Yeah, but millions of people with a pulse don’t bother to get off their butt and apply, while she did.
7 Likes
We are skipping the 20 min college talk today but basically did it on the way home from D24’s hospital volunteering today. Volunteers are being asked to help with removing food trays from patient rooms & cleaning up trash that hasn’t made its way into a receptacle. Am glad that my kid is having to do grunt work.
She talked about boys on the way home, said her friends have said that they think she & this one boy in their grade should start dating and D24’s reaction to that was, “Ew, we’re really good friends. That would be like dating my brother.” 
Learned that the Girl Who Brags About Test Scores is still getting on my kid’s nerves.
D24 did a study session for AP Calculus w/school friends on Discord yesterday. And when they were done, they played a pictionary-style game together online…and the sounds of D24’s laughter were pretty infectious. I’m glad that she has good friends. 
After tomorrow’s exam, she still has French, Music Theory, and Physics finals.
D24 said that when the summer is over, she doesn’t want to work at Mcdonald’s during the school year. I said, “That’s fine. You can find a different job and work somewhere else for about 10 hr a week.”
Started poking around and looking at Texas Tech University, but it’s in Lubbock, TX…and it’s an enormous campus. And I’m not sure if the campus vibe would mesh well with her. But it’s probably affordable. So we will see.
5 Likes
Working a part-time job has really been the only extra-curricular my D24 has been willing to do. She works 12-15 hours during the school year, and 20-25 during the summer. It has been the best thing for her, and she LOVES the days the paycheck hits her bank account, even if there are days she doesn’t feel like going in for her shift. Hope your D has a good experience, too.
Edited to add - just one and done on AP exams here (Chem). D thought it wasn’t too bad. Took SAT for the 2nd (and last) time this past weekend. She felt rusty on the math (uh, maybe because she didn’t bother to study between taking it last March and now?), but felt that the verbal section was easier than last time.
7 Likes
S24 has his AP Computer Science exam today. I am not holding my breath. He has had a tough time with the material- has been able to do well in the class because of projects and getting credit for homework, but really doesn’t “get” the material. At this point I just want him to end the year with a good grade in the class and not worry about the test.
He has been SO grumpy lately too. Tired of school, tired of talking about college (I have made a conscious effort not to bring up anything college related in the last week), tired of worrying/thinking about a summer job. He has a busy summer b/c he has to write his college essay, 6:30 am daily football workouts, work, apply to schools, etc. I get it. But I also feel like we all did all of that (minus the football workouts:rofl:) and managed just fine. I remember having to take summer school for math, then go to work, etc. It blew. But it was way more than we are asking of him. His job is for a moving company and it is hard, physical work. But it pays really well, keeps him active to balance out the video games and crap he eats when he isn’t working, and he actually did not seem to hate it last summer. We are only asking for three days a week which I honestly think is pretty fair. He also refused to take a two day virtual essay writing class (2 hours two days in a row in July) and instead said he would allow me to read and give feedback on his essay. He is NOT a writer 
This is a recipe for disaster but I can’t get him to agree to the class and it is virtual which I do not love. If it were in person I would just say suck it up and drive him there. Anyway, all this to say things in our neck of the woods have been not so fun lately.
2 Likes
Sounds like your son is a little burned out, which is totally understandable at this point in the school year! Especially at the end of 11th grade, I think.
I think that writing something like a reflective essay about yourself can be pretty hard, especially when up until now, pretty much ALL of the essay writing that HS students have to do is NOT reflective in nature.
On one of the college app-related podcasts I listen to, there was an episode a month or 2 ago in which they were talking about writing application essays. One tip that I remember from it was making the student start out by writing ONE page per day on ANYTHING. EVEN if it’s a whole page where you are complaining about having to write for an entire page. Have the kid do that consistently and the podcasters were saying that every day or every other day, out of the single page, there will probably be at least one nugget that you can use to turn into something else…which could then turn into a personal statement, for example.
I thought it was a good idea.
And my D24 doesn’t know it yet, but I’m going to make her do this after the school year is over. She’s going to be super mad. And frustrated. I can hear it now…“MAMA! Why are you making me do HW over the SUMMER?! This sucks!”
3 Likes
Haha right? I can hear mine now as well. They will whine in chorus 
1 Like
Mine will be whining right there with yours. We have had to pivot somewhat due to my son’s broken collarbone but will be having him start writing his essays. I like that idea of starting out writing one page a day to get started. They actually do some work on college essays in English when they go back to school but once he gets back to soccer in August- October there won’t be much time. And if he wants to do early action/decision those apps will be due before he knows it.
Looking for job opportunities or volunteer activities where he doesn’t have to lift much or use his arm too much. He had lined up a volunteer soccer position with low income children who mostly speak Spanish to practice his Spanish and because he enjoys soccer and coaching. He will still be able to do that. Just the soccer diving that he loves as goalkeeper won’t be happening for a couple months.
I think my son is also burned out. Junior year has been challenging with virtual Math and Chemistry because of teacher shortages. At this point I just want him to get his work in and get B’s. He understands the work just procrastinates and finds it hard to engage. Virtual has really been videos that he has had to watch with self pacing. Teachers monitor the work but really don’t teach. I would like to think he has learned to pace himself better with this situation but really not sure if he has learned anything.
Hang in there! Hopefully some positives and light at the end of junior year coming!! And good point about us doing it. I remember busting my tail at Baskin Robbins! Coming home with my arm hurting from scooping ice cream, sticky in that ugly pink and brown uniform and having to deal with some rude customers- some nice ones too!!
1 Like
My vote for writing length would be one-half page. The mental focus when stuck with doing an arbitrary and to them onerous entire page, day after day, soon becomes how to survive doing yet another page. Not a frame of mind conducive to inspiration or introspection. Of course, on those occasions when an idea arrives that does get them motivated, they can run with it for however long.
4 Likes
My neighbor’s future SIL is studing at Texas Tech. Its a good school, beautiful campus, great BS/MD program, ok football tram… but since it is in Lubbock, which is worst than Sherman, one can feel very lonely.
we visited once, but tour is just a tour, you can’t really tell much.
Neighbor’s SIL only focus on studying there, so only has a few friends. According to them he is a good kid and doesn’t go out often (well, because there is nothing to go to around there 
). He comes and visits the daughter several times a year.
Years back there were known alcohol issue there among students. Not sure if that is still the case. Hell, even another neighbor of mine has adviced us not to let S24 apply there, unless he wants to learn to drink a lot. 
1 Like
D24 said AP Calculus AB exam “wasn’t too bad,” was able to answer all of the questions except for part of one free response question, thinks she “probably scored a 3”). But we will find out in about 6 weeks.
Next exams are on Thursday…AP French and Honors Physics. Am letting kid stay home from school tomorrow.
Signed kid up for COVID booster vaccine since she leaves in a smidge under 2 wk for her school trip to France. Vaccine not required for the trip, just getting her a booster shot just in case!
6 Likes
Correction…kid is NOT staying home tomorrow because she left her physics binder at school.
…and this kid is going to officially be an adult in a little over a year? Lord help us all. HAHAHA!
It does seem like a lot of brain growth and maturity needs to happen in a year and 4 months before college! I think we have a lot to teach our son in this time! 
1 Like
D24 has French and Physics final exams tomorrow. She’s almost done w/the French course on Modern States. I think she has, like, 2 lessons left which she’s going to finish up this evening.
D24’s decided that she’d rather make coffee at Starbucks instead of work at McDonalds, so applied for 2 Starbucks jobs last night. And there’s a competitor coffee place opening up, like, 5 min from our house very soon, so she’s going to submit an application this evening to that place as well.
The teenage angst is in high gear, though, because the 1 of the new Bluetooth earbuds that she just purchased isn’t working properly. Oh, the venom coming out of that child today!
The big end-of-year choir concert is on Saturday. Then choir banquet next Thursday.
2 Likes