<p>Lucymom- My D didn’t get her driver’s license until she was 18!! No time. I was just on the phone talking with her dentist and trying to figure out where she has a 2 week window for some work. No time. She has this little window now before her next show and she is figuring out all the other shows she can do during that window and in the window that follows before college starts but I had to put my foot down somewhere. These creative kids have to create - they are so driven. But my robotics son was a big time-eater and stress generator as well in high-school. Those robot competitions were exhausting. How often was I sent to buy some weird thing I didn’t know what it was or how late did I stay up chaperoning as they raced to meet a deadline? And the Eagle Scout project? Yikes. My neighborhood is all Type A (although I’m not by nature) and we are all running around like crazy folks, even the non MT families. I like to think that when I get an empty nest, I’m gonna sleep in it for a good while! OK, I’ve just had another thought as to a good reason for a long summer program out of state - you get a break! :)</p>
<p>There is also value in going away to summer programs (no matter the type or field). This is NOT why I sent my kids away every summer. However, I will say that I think in the end that it was beneficial because when they went to college, they were very adjusted to being away from home and not knowing anyone and all that. I went away 8 weeks every summer for ten years when I was growing up. Summer camp was one of the best experiences of my youth. I also adjusted smoothly when I went away to college and knew no one.</p>
<p>The great equalizer in all this is talent. And if you spent a small fortune at camps, private lessons and coaches it does not matter one bit. No matter how you arrived at the auditioner’s table, everyone get’s the same 10 minutes to impress the judges!</p>
<p>And the same will hold true after you graduate from a great MT school, university or conservatory. Except you will only get about 16 bars or a few lines.</p>