<p>Just wondering what other parents think are the biggest suprises having their student home after a semester at college… for me,
1 - A bit of whiplash looking at this kid’s dramatic increase in confidence and maturity - I find myself tiptoeing a bit to make sure I don’t do “the old things” for her that now she is used to doing herself. Not only can she do them herself, but she wants to do jobs that are MINE as well!
2 - A mixed feeeling about how well she is doing without me - I am proud of her achievements, but not quite ready for the feeling that I wasn’t there to witness the transition …</p>
<p>Just wondering - how are other parents faring?</p>
<p>Last year when D came home at Christmas, I was shocked at how exhausted she was. She had lost her spark and it took a good couple of weeks for her to bounce back. She had had a great semester academically, but went through a bad break-up right before the holidays and had fought illness for a while. One thing I discovered was that she was working way too hard with too much all-night studying, at the expense of her health, relationships and enjoyment of the college experience. She was afraid to even take one night off during the weekend, but was so tired her studying was not as efficient. She was fine by the time she went back, had a great second semester (except for a couple of medical issues) and really did much better socially and relaxed a little. Fast forward to this year: another great semester, no illness at all and she came home happy and in a good frame of mind. She has been in a great, positive relationship all semester, and found someone who takes school as seriously as she does. They are both missing each other horribly, but thanks to Skype are faring pretty well. She found some balance between work and play and it made all the difference.</p>
<p>Huge one. But it wasn’t her, it was us! We went shopping for a used car. Everything that she could see out of (she’s under 5ft) was just insanely expensive. At the end of the day, a good deal (well below nada/kbb) was still a lot of money for an old, high-mileage car. We bought her a low-end new one instead. Thank goodness she chose a really affordable college.</p>
<p>Has she matured? Yes. But it’s oh so easy to slip back into old patterns–for all of us.</p>
<p>Academically she did very well. Was invited into an advanced lab by one of her profs.</p>
<p>Biggest surprise is that she’s become confident in the kitchen. This year she moved into a house with friends; the only fly in the ointment was that she was going to have to cook once a week. The kid was terrified of the kitchen (yeah, my fault). She went back armed with “Cheap and Simple Cooking for College Students” or some such, and has put together a repertoire of recipes that are apparently quite a hit. On break, she’s made dinner for us several times without being asked. Her pizza really is, as her roomie says, “a party in your mouth.”</p>