| MOWC:
It's great that they have a non-parent adult mentor to turn to. Sounds like you will be sending out more than one BIG THANK YOU gift card....
Ahh, the power of the older girlfriend. My friend's son was somewhat of a Lost Boy until recently. He is one of those very bright kids (started reading at three) who tested off the charts on SATs but wouldn't do homework. At 16, he found the GED exam online, took it, passed it, and then announced, "I'm not going to high school anymore." He worked, dabbled in some classes in community college but stopped going to school again, a few credits shy of the A.A. He also worked full time in a film-editing business and read computer programming books on the side. He is 21 now, getting his A.A. in the spring and working on applications to four-year colleges to finish his education. The key motivator? He met a lovely young woman a few years older who has already graduated from college and basically told him to get his a-- in gear so they could have a life together. They met at Starbucks, where she worked while putting herself through college; he came in everyday during the period when he was working instead of going to cc.
As others have said, there are many individual paths to adulthood, college, and success. If a student needs to step off the college treadmill for a period of time to figure things out, it's okay. Think of it as a belated gap year. |