Today I took DS17 to get contacts…He was not thrilled about it. But DH & I think he should at least try them.He is planning on minoring in Theater and wants to do some extra work in the summer(there are a lot of TV/Movies being filmed in Atlanta right now) and I think he will have a better chance of being picked without glasses. DS13 has been able to get a couple extra jobs just for the fun of it and thinks its been interesting seeing how they film stuff.
Thank you all for the kind words today, I appreciate the sentiment.
A while back, there was a discussion here about student speakers at graduation having to submit their speeches before commencement and getting the hook if there are any deviations from that speech. School can just shut the microphone off:
Seems like he got a bigger microphone by posting the video, though.
One of our speakers added one thing to the end of her speech. “Si se puede” which got rousing cheers from all.
No doubt the school likely drew more attention to itself and any possible issues by taking the approach taken. Would likely have been better to just let the kid say what he wanted to say and move on. No one would likely be talking about it at this point.
@RightCoaster thanks for sharing, how awesome and proud you must feel to have raised such an awesome son! My D is single… ;
@RightCoaster I got teary reading that!
So happy for your S who has always truly seemed like just a great, regular kid who really does the right thing. I love that he was honored like that, for staying true to himself and his values especially with some of the team challenges this year. A scholarship on top of it is truly icing on a well deserved slice of cake.
Congratulations you should be very proud.
@RightCoaster I second the motion to join the facebook group. Do you just have something you don’t like about facebook? You like the mystery here. Would love to see pictures!
We returned last night from D’s orientation at UAH. She’s ready to pack up and leave now! I came away more convinced than before that she made the correct choice for herself. We had wonderful conversations with the Dean of Students and the Department Chair of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. It was obvious that they, and other faculty and staff that we met, are caring, engaged, and dedicated to doing what is best for their students.
@uahmom17, are you from the Huntsville area? We’re eight hours away…
@RightCoaster Wow, what a great speech and congrats on the scholarship and raising such an honorable young man!
We dropped my D off at college yesterday. I did my best to get everything up to her dorm room (three flights of un-air conditioned stairs, no elevator) and then make a quick get away before things got too emotional. My D wanted me to stay and help her get her computer connected to the WiFi and her Mom seemed to be reluctant to leave right away. So after an hour or so of piddling in her dorm room everyone was finally ready to call it, so we said an non-teary good bye and we headed home.
I was amazed how much stuff can be packed into a tiny dorm room!
My D starts Summer term classes on Monday. Like @NerdMom88 's D she did not want to wait. Not only did she accept her admission as soon as we got home from admitted students day she also moved her start term to Summer.
@CaucAsianDad I hope your D’s summer program works out as well as my older son’s did a couple of years ago. He was in a program for freshman that coincides with summer session B and it was huge for getting him comfortable with the school during a quieter time. By the time the Fall quarter started, all the summer kids were old pros. Supposedly kids who go through the program are a little more successful during their entire college career. It certainly got him off to a great start. My son’s only regret was that they didn’t go to the beach more. Good luck to your daughter and I hope she has a fun summer.
It was a little tough on us having him home for only 6 weeks that summer, but it was well worth it.
@CaucAsianDad
And so it begins…
God bless.
@RightCoaster - Congratulations on your son’s award and scholarship!
Congratulations @RightCoaster family!!
We just returned from UT orientation. DS registered classes and was assigned a dorm room. So regardless of whether I feel he is ready or not, yeah, he is going to college, I think.
While DS was in student orientation, DH and I attended family orientation.
DH said “does it feel like we just joined a cult?”
I definitely agree.
QOTD: Does parent meeting/association feel like a cult? Or is it just Texas thing? :-/
cf. Montessori preschool family gatherings definitely was a cult. :)) It has been a while since we were a part of cult after the 5 years of Montessori preschooling between the two boys.
Wow, @CaucAsianDad things are getting real here! 
Will she have some time between summer and fall terms?
Congrats on having a son to be proud of @RightCoaster!
@payn4ward I think preschool did seem most like a cult! I haven’t met parents from his college yet. (DH went with him to admitted student days.) I’ve “liked” the FB parents page, but that is not so much a community as a place where they post photos of events on campus (and squirrels). So, it could be a Texas thing–A&M certainly had its cult-like aspects but I wouldn’t think that of UT.
Many of the state flagship universities have strong alumni networks with a 1/3 or more of the students being legacies. It’s one thing to attend these schools from out of state, it’s another when your parents are alumni and you grew up, in-state, as an “Aggie” , “Longhorn” or “Gator”. It can definitely feel very cult like, especially from the perspective of being on the outside looking in.
I bet when we do “Move In” in the fall, about 1/2 of the parents will be wearing Gator gear (36% of UF’s freshman are legacies). I know I will. 
@youce She is not in a special program, she just showed up early. Her roommate moves-in Saturday, she is also a freshmen and they are going to use the summer to explore the campus together. We are hoping by the end of summer the campus will feel more like home to her and there will be one less thing to cause stress in the fall.
@Ynotgo If she passes the marching band try out she will only be home one week in mid August. Band members have to report one week and a half early for band camp,
@Gator88NE Yes the Gator Nation does feel like a cult to an outsider (I wore Orange and Blue for move-in though, the first time since 9th grade). In the real world Gators can come off like just obnoxious football fans, but at Florida Days, Preview and on campus it is very different, it was more “together we can accomplish great things.”
My D really connected with the feeling that she is part of something bigger, it is what she likes about marching band, she is a small, but important part of a greater whole. She is definitely a small fish in a big pond type of person.