Parents of the HS Class of 2018 (Part 1)

I think S is ready to go back to school. Having a gf/bf will do that sometimes. It’s probably better to be pining for someone at your college during the summer than someone at home during school. They have seen each other a couple of times, and he’s enjoyed hanging out with his friends. Two weeks from today we head up to Ithaca.

Keeping it real, it’s been a bit of a rough summer for us so far. S18 has really been struggling with depression. It’s not totally out of the blue, but definitely much more pronounced than in the past, and is causing us to wonder how things will play out when school starts again. He’s been getting treatments that have helped somewhat, but it’s hard to see him have such a rough time and be so down. I look forward to the time when he can enjoy summer again.

@pickledginger so sorry your S is struggling. I wish I had words of wisdom, but absent that, I wanted to let you know that we are thinking of you and wishing good things for your S.

@melvin123, thanks for your well wishes - they’re appreciated.

D18 already went back to college last Sunday, the day after we got back from vacation in Europe. She flew out there direct from college after her summer classes finished, so she’s only spent a total of 5 nights at home this summer (and has done two move out/move ins on her own because she had a different college apartment over the summer). But it was great to have what will probably be our last big vacation with all the kids together and visit grandparents etc.

She is taking 23 credits this semester as she continues to work hard to try and complete both a BFA and BSc (plus required Honors courses) in four years. She will need about 160 semester credits (excluding AP credits) to do that, but it should now be feasible without having to do another session of summer classes (which is nice because her scholarship only covers the costs for 8 regular semesters).

Meanwhile S18 is having a more restful summer and doesn’t go back until mid-September (he’s on the quarter system).

Res Life needs to get its act together. 15 days before school starts and my D still doesn’t have a dorm or roommate assignment. This is certainly making moving off campus next year look more enticing. I always said I wouldn’t let my D have off campus housing (I think it can take away from the college experience and I also didn’t want the legal hassles of co-signing a lease), but now I’m starting to rethink my position. Hmmmm, wonder whether my D paid off Res Life to not release assignments. LOL.

A year ago today S had his move in and convocation. This year he is part of the Welcome Week and I am looking out for him on this year’s move-in videos! Like a true pro he has avoided all camera presence but it has brought back memories of last year as we sat 4000 miles away watching him ‘take the oath’.
We had a fantastic two weeks with him (just back yesterday). Thank you North Carolina for providing a great backdrop to our memories.
He’s coming home for Christmas - four months away but who’s counting?

After getting over mono, my S has been busy all summer with two musical productions and working part-time.
He is living on campus one more year, but we will need to look for an apartment soon for next year.

@mommdc. That’s crazy that you have to look a whole year in advance!

I thought my DD18 had left for school on Sunday, but she showed back up at home last night. I guess that is a consequence of our moving to within an hour of the school and letting her take a car to school this year! Classes start on Monday and she officially attained junior status this summer by taking 3 classes at our local CC and getting a total of 61 credit hours under her belt, so it looks like she has knocked off 1 year tuition! Not sure why she is in such a hurry to graduate, but she has set her sights on law school, so I think she is hoping that year of saved tuition will go toward a year of law school tuition!

Took D18 back to Clemson last week. Moved her into a new school dorm apartment with 4 singles, a full kitchen, living room, 2 baths and a washer and dryer. We told her that her first apartment out of college probably won’t be that nice.
She switched from BA to Economics to BS Economics and is going to pursue a minor in Political Science. The plan is to be done in 3 years as she got 35 AP credits when she went in.
She was excited to find out that she got a paid internship with a grant that is studying and supporting gender equality among the Clemson Faculty. She was very happy to get that internship and as a bonus it enabled her to quit her job at Starbucks which required her to work on football Saturdays. She also got some sort of research project through the architecture school. Not really sure how an econ major got a research project in architecture school but she is happy about that as well.

Its going fast…

@pickledginger Just checking in after a hiatus (anyone else dislike the new CC look?) How is your son doing?

Hello to all my fellow parents! Hope your summers were grand. We had a lot packed into what I felt was a short time. D18 however thought it was far too long, complaining that her brain was melting and needed to get back to Amherst lol!

@Meddy , thanks for thoughtful check in. I am extremely happy to say that things seem to have improved considerably recently and we are finally breathing a huge sigh of relief, at least for the time being. I feel very fortunate to have the resources and knowledge/history to have been able to facilitate treatment for him - it is such a struggle to access treatment even in the best of circumstances that I really can’t imagine how hopeless it must feel for those without access to care.

Re: the new CC interface, I dislike it so much that I hardly ever go on CC any more, despite having a high school senior. I learned a lot from CC but am not motivated to use it much now due to the format.

Anyway, I’m glad you enjoyed your busy summer and wish all the best to my fellow 2018er parents!

Hello, parents of the high school class of 2018! Can you believe our kids are sophomores already?!!

Leaving them at college this year, alas now we know exactly how long a year feels!

It was a nice summer though- our son enjoyed his internship and we even were able to take a great family vacation together. And he enjoyed leading an orientation group for freshmen upon his arrival back at school.

This year he has a roommate- his best buddy at school. He got there over a week before his roommate because of the orientation. We all laughed when he said it took his roommate about ten minutes to unpack. Our son had to leave to start orientation training just four hours after he was allowed to get his key, so we helped finish the room set-up for him. Across two days, it took us twelve hours of exhausting work to set up his room!

Twelve hours versus ten minutes. Pretty funny!

One thing I thought was funny, but I think is quite typical, is that it took 2 full SUVs for Freshman year move-in. Sophomore year? Down to 1 SUV and we had plenty of extra room.

@melvin123 Funny. We took daughter down first year MDX stuffed to the gills and mailed about 5 boxes. This year everything fit into DD’s Kia Forte.

@pickledginger , glad your son is improving. I hope you are able to keep a close eye on him during the school year and that he reaches out to you when he needs help.

S18 has been back at FSU for a few weeks. He shares a 4 bd apt with 3 of his best friends. Each have their own bath; and the complex itself is very nice, with lots of amenities. Much nicer than anything I lived in at that age. He goes on a rope course excursion with the new cohort of FSU Presidential Scholars this weekend, and has been busy with rehearsals for his first FSU opera. Looking forward to seeing him in it. Hope all have a successful year!

I saw D briefly this weekend for a family dinner. I heard her talking about her choice of major with some relatives down the table. She told them the reason she applied for engineering was because I suggested it, but now she really loves it. Haha.

Senior year of high school, she was so ambivalent about college, and my attempts at encouragement weren’t always received well. The whole application process seemed to make her unhappy. But when she was talking about it the other day, she really seemed so appreciative of how I helped her.

She showed H and I a video of her and a friend performing at an open mike night at the university. You could hear the audience enjoying it, and at the end of the piece, the crowd joined in. My serious, hardworking girl is blossoming in ways I never imagined.

@pickledginger Exactly what I hoped to hear! Good news. Life is in motion and going in a positive direction. He is very fortunate to have you to help navigate those daunting waters.

@TheGreyKing 4 giant suitcases and a 2 large storage bins in a what is likely a 100 year+ basement was what the hubs helped D18 unpack. The tiniest amount of pairing down may have even occurred. Thank goodness she will never have to actually live off campus in an apartment!

@vistajay & @MACmiracle Exciting things going on makes college so much fun! I know my girl celebrated her 19th birthday last week and we had a cookie cake and cookies from Insomnia Cookies delivered that she shared with friends. It really is nice to hear that she has found her place and her people there. Makes this mama’s heart happy!

Anyone attending Family Weekend for their Sophomore? We will head out to MA on Halloween weekend. Every party needs a pooper and this year it’s parents showing up to trick or treat!