<p>Congratulations, EmeraldKitty!!! Now pat yourself on the back, give yourself a deep and luxurious sigh and then enjoy every minute of the time your daughter lives at home!</p>
<p>Your D sounds like the real deal! Best wishes to you and to her. I love your description of her choosing ECs that fulfilled her and not being the type to chase the club presidency.</p>
<p>EK,
Many, many congrats for raising a fine D who knows herself well and will carry that confidence on into her new life! As for worrying, it's part of the job description. :)</p>
<p>Congratulations. And thanks for reminding us that there is a place for every kind of kid.</p>
<p>Wish I could send this as an email to all parents of high school kids:</p>
<p>"...there is a place for every kind of kid."</p>
<p>Thanks Kelsmom.</p>
<p>She applied to Humboldt in Calif which has an exchange agreement with western schools and sounds great if a little more ruralish than she would like.
She also applied to Western Wa university which is her first choice and after she was accepted there she didn't finish her other apps which were Eckerd in Florida and Univ of San Francisco.</p>
<p>However- I don't think my worrying days are over ( I keep telling myself it is only because I have a good imagination)
She is planning on going back to Ghana in the fall to spend three months as a " very part time" instructor, at the school where her team ( from her high school) just returned from installing computers.
That was practically the first words out of her mouth when I picked her up yesterday. " I'm going back in six months!"</p>
<p>I'm glad she had such a good time, but I feel it is a little ironic- that while I squelched my apprehension about her taking such a big trip without her momma, that I get paid back by her wanting to return there ASAP!</p>
<p>I think what is really hard about this process is that there is always a milestone- that we could compare with someone else.
How old were they when they were potty trained, read a book, rode a bike.
Everything is lined up to fulfill not only all the high school graduation requirements, but the college admittance " recommendations".</p>
<p>Some of the things they do may not be that impressive on paper- but it may make a huge difference to the person they become.</p>
<p>My daughter has played team sports for instance since she was 8.
First basketball, because it was the only uniform she could tolerate. She wasn't very good, but she didn't give up and her teammates and coaches were very supportive.
When she was 9 she began playing soccer, and stayed on the same team till this last season. It was a long time before she attempted a goal during a game, longer than that for her to actually make one. But she finished the season as a reliable fairly strong player for that level & she learned a lot about herself in the process.</p>
<p>It helped a lot I think, that the girls were supportive of each other and really had a good time playing. It also made a difference that the parents didn't 2nd guess the coaches or the girls and we realized how lucky we were to have this opportunity to watch them grow up.</p>
<p>It might have even been harder if she had been a superlative player, because then I might have felt like she had to get noticed, and get a big scholarship at some point.</p>
<p>She did learn however, that it was ok to fall as long as you get up again.</p>
<p>I hope all these kids learn that.
It's not the falling that is important, it's the getting up.</p>
<p>Congratulations, Em, to you and your daughter! What a wild ride, but look how wonderful the results are.</p>
<p>And worrying... My mom is 71, and still worries about me and my sister. I wonder if I ever stop worrying...</p>
<p>Hope I'm not too late to add my congrats? It's always good to read posts like yours, EK. When our D was applying to schools, we were living in a real "pressure cooker" part of the state -- not only re colleges, but about almost everything! Honestly, if your child wasn't going the HYP or small NE LAC route, you & your child was almost written off as a failure. I'm thankful beyond measure that we have moved, and we're out of that environment as our S starts the college process. It helps that he's really unconcerned w/ what other people think, and doesn't get all worked up about that sort of stuff. About the time I wish he would be a little more "worked up," he does something that surprises me -- like last year when he was doing a club sport for spring term (vs. an interscholastic sport), which freed up Wednesday afternoons. He came home and announced he'd signed up for after school mentoring -- not because it would look good as an EC (which was probably not even on his radar), but because he wanted to!</p>
<p>EK -- Yay!
I absolutely love your quote about the right attitude being, "It's my education and I'm going to go for it." This is what they need to take advantage of any situation they end up in.
Not only have I heard that Western Wash. has good programs, but more than one person has described the setting as a little bit of paradise.<br>
How do we ever know when to finally just accept the kid, let them learn their own way, and do THEIR best? It's so hard when at first your job is to push at least a little, right? When you know they could do a little better or you believe they are making life harder than it has to be? And yet what does all that lecturing and worrying really do -- the lessons only sink in when they figure it out for themselves.<br>
I've got the first one leaving in the fall and I catch myself all the time because, really, my part is so DONE. Unless she asks -- right?</p>
<p>EK - Thanks for the post - My D is similar - very bright but a bit of an underachiever. She's done lots of EC - and had a very things she was passionate about and really concentrated on those. She wasn't the one who was winning awards - kind of flew under the radar. She's heard from 3 schools and been accepted at all 3 - one of which was one of her top choices and two with academic scholarships and waiting to hear from others. I too am the family's designated worrier and have worried more about the whole college process and getting in, finding the right school, etc. She had a much more relaxed and confident attitude. I am breathing a sigh of relief and trying to remind myself not to get too geared up over my HS sophmore S. Peers are padding their schedules with AP's they are not interested in just to raise their GPA meanwhile he's looking to concentrate on Math and Music and not necessarily looking to get the highest GPA he can by taking all the AP's he can - but rather the concentrating on what he likes best. The important thing is a happy kid, happy adult. That's true success. Good luck to your D next year. I too cannot believe how fast this all went - but try to remind myself of the joy I will get seeing her continue to grow and become an independent person/adult.</p>
<p>Wonderful news! Congrats to you and your D!</p>
<p>Great news EK!!! I can hear that sigh of relief all the way down here.</p>
<p>I've followed the adventures of your girls the past few years, as perhaps you've seen some of my posts about DD and DS.
I have some of the same issues with my son that you have had with your younger one - I really hope he has an equally satisfying outcome. Perhaps this is true for your D - I think it is important to his maturing to have what he perceives as a successful college search, but with only limited stress.
He needs to feel a sense of accomplishment, in order to move on to success in college.</p>
<p>Great news!
Congratulations!</p>
<p>She sounds like a great kid EK, congrats to her and to you!</p>
<p>emerald, my D2 was just checking out the Humboldt site last night, before I read your post! It would be hard not to love the Western Wash location. Of all the mailings from schools, the aerial view of the campus was the most spectacular. Better than Pepperdine. Great options!</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing your daughter's great news, and congrats to her! My nephew went to Western (03) and loved it.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the responses! wow!</p>
<p>I just hope she doesn't get senioritis!
( like her mom who has a big project due tommorrow so I better print it up)</p>
<p>calmom is the resident expert on Humboldt State and she has had some nice things to say about it.</p>