I can’t believe we’re wrapping up their first year in college already! S21 had a stellar year academically, but didn’t really come out his shell to get involved in any campus activities or clubs. His group of friends (4 of them from high school that were all still inseparable in college lol) will all have different living arrangements this next year (the 2 girls will be living in a house one of their parents bought) and my son and his other guy bestie will be in different off campus apartments with other roommates. I’m hoping this will nudge him to get involved on campus more. He did apply to be a student ambassador in the Business College though.
He has an appointment with his advisor next week ahead of registering for fall. He’s already classified as a sophomore and all his Gen Ed requirements are already completed (except for one science credit I believe). He’s halfway done with all lower level major requirements and I think he’s deciding to declare his major in Information Systems and minor in Finance.
D is in year lease apartment style housing and will stay there for next year as well, so no moving anywhere or storing things. She is planning to take a class and hoping to TA for a coding class like she did this spring.
I agree that the year flew by. S is double majoring and added a minor also, so he will be busy, busy. He has an on campus job working for one of the departments he is majoring in and he has a summer internship on the east coast. He is active and on the board of a couple of clubs at school and there are so many other interesting opportunities that he would do if only he had the time. He and his friends are all staying in the same dorm they were assigned this yr and S will be part of the welcome weekend activities for the incoming freshmen.
Great to hear about everyone who has posted! My D has grown in confidence so much in the last months. She studies hard and it shows. She has close friends (mostly from her dorm), volunteers as a literacy tutor with elementary kids, recently rushed and joined a gender-inclusive honor/service fraternity and has a new boyfriend (who has been a friend all year). She and her roommate are staying together next year. She just bought her plane ticket for a five-week summer term in Tuscany. Tomorrow she’ll be volunteering to help at William & Mary’s admitted student weekend. How quickly a year has flown! Next year my formerly shy-ish kid is thinking of getting a job as a campus tour guide. I don’t miss her as much as I thought I would because I’m so happy that she’s happy and expanding her world beyond our small town.
Me, my week has been tough but getting better. During a neighborhood walk on Tuesday, a passing pit bull mistook my twenty pound fluff-mutt for a squeaky toy. Its person didn’t even have this dog on a leash! The young man said something to the effect of “he’s really sweet, he don’t ever hurt nobody”. Yep, just as the dog was clamping its jaws onto my little Winnie’s neck. It took WAY too long for the guy to wrestle his “sweet” pit away. I really thought my dog was dead…the screaming stopped. At one point the guy had pulled his dog up onto its hind legs with my pup just dangling with all paws off the ground. The second Winnie was freed from those jaws we went running up the hill without taking a photo. Though I could have done that from a distance I was too terrified to think of it. That guy is still on the loose (hope his dog is not). Winnie just got home from the vet today with four deep sutured puncture wounds. She had to have drains for them for several days. She’s understandably jumpy. This is the fifth time she has been attacked (third pit), though none like this. People can say what they will about powerful breeds but no one should have them in public, no matter how loving they think they are, if they cannot or will not physically control them when the prey drive is set off. Walking my dog is just about my biggest daily recreation (especially since the pandemic set in). We usually go miles. Now, I don’t know. It’s not really fun to walk around with a can of mace!
@inthegarden sounds like your D has had a great year! Thanks for the update. Her upcoming trip sounds exciting.
I’m so sad to hear about your poor pup. I cannot imagine how scary that must have been. Our first dog was a 75lb lab mutt who was attacked by a running loose pit bull. Thankfully not only was my husband with me, but my dog was large enough that he was able to defend himself while the owner ran over to get his dog, who had accidentally gotten loose. My dog was not hurt but sure scared me! On the flip side, I was once bitten by some sort of collie who didn’t seem threatening initially (I was out for a run alone). But all of a side he ran behind me and but the back of my leg - I had to spend my Saturday morning in an ER getting stitches and a tetanus shot. Dogs of all sizes and breeds can be unpredictable. I’m glad to hear your wee dog is going to be okay, but I’m so sorry he was injured and both of you traumatized. I hope you are able to continue enjoying long walks eventually. It’s unfortunate you were unable to get the owner’s info as it should have been reported to Animal Control. You might consider contacting them anyway in case someone else has already reported the dog. Even tho you don’t know who owns it, at least if you give a description and location they will have a record of it if it happens again to someone else. My county has strict laws for repeat offenders.
Thanks! Wondering if the collie was in herding mode rather than attack mode, nipping you as if you were a sheep to corral…or maybe, yes, an attack as if you were the predator of the herd …either way, ouch! And scary! I did call the police and animal control once I had my dog at the vet. The animal control guy came by my house and was very nice. He said they rarely euthanize a dog but pursue the irresponsible human, including follow-up visits. He thinks there’s a decent chance he can use his detective skills and small-town web of contacts (not that he put it like that) to find the guy. I’m not on Facebook, but a neighbor posted about this on our neighborhood association and the response has been pretty big, so lots of eyes out there. Plenty of dog-walkers on my street are concerned.
I have thought long and hard about going for a couple of weeks after her program has ended, and she has asked me to. I wish I could go, but I have a lot on my plate this summer, and TBH I’m still feeling a little anxious about taking a long flight (and trains , etc) with the pandemic still ongoing. I hope that next summer (or maybe late spring g) there will be time and opportunity to go with her there, or somewhere else. I had a trip to Italy with her completely planned and booked for that fateful summer two years ago (Fortunately almost everything was refunded) so I do hope to make it eventually! I’m so glad it seems it will work out for her, though, as I have already gotten to travel a lot during my lifetime already! it’s a W&M program, and she will be flying both ways with a good friend who lives in NJ suburbs of NYC. She’ll stay with the friend for a couple of days before flying out.
@inthegarden I am so glad to hear you D is having a great year, and Tuscany sounds amazing. I am so sorry to read about the pit attack, how very frightening. I sure hope the owner is found and so thankful your little dog is ok.
I haven’t posted much on this thread but figured I’d share. S has about a month left in his first year at Yale. When it was time to chose a college last year we struggled with him passing up 3 free rides to go to Yale (not free but with financial aid). There was so much advice given on here it was incredible. He went in thinking to major in a STEM field possibly doing medical research but is now undecided (definitely not STEM) possibly History. This summer he will study in Japan on a Light Fellowship fully funded. He loves it at Yale so much he never wants to come home but makes sure to let me know every now and then how thankful he is for this opportunity.
Hi - I am parent of D22. Apart from all the other checklists, trying to figure out what else my daughter needs on campus. I have read up on campus safety measures in place etc but wondering if girl students carry ( or allowed to carry) pepper spray on them. What is the best practice you recommend. Sorry for a very tactical question. Thanks in advance
We bought our daughters the “Birdie” alarm (google) and asked them to please have the student safety phone number programmed in their cell. They said a lot of girls showed up with a Birdie - no clue about pepper spray.
At orientation, both of their schools had them program in the number for health services and reviewed what to do in a medical emergency too.
Different states have different laws about whether someone can carry pepper spray. We got a birdie for our daughter bc she was not allowed to carry pepper spray. The best thing she did was she has permanently turned on “share your location” on her phone with a group of girls she is friends with. that way a number of people can track someone down if god forbid something were to happen. She has since ditched her birdie bc she felt it was too big.
My daughter has a Birdie, pepper spray and Pepper gel. She carries the pepper gel when it is windy and pepper spray when it is not. Birdie all the time. She is an engineering major and goes into the EE lab in the basement often and gets out very late and walks back to her dorm in the dark.
Wow I can’t believe all of you guys bought Birdies, etc. for you students, especially the ones that I know are at small LACs. D at Colgate feels completely safe, in fact told us that this weekend again. She doesn’t have any device like that.
I did not buy one for my D at a rural LAC either. But I’m so glad the Birdie was brought up here because my kiddo has a summer internship in an urban area. So she will be part of the Birdie crowd.
She just wrapped up winter semester finals and is driving home today. Her stuff has been moved to storage until fall since she’s doing a Maymester class abroad. I can’t wait to see her!
