Our son earned his captain rank last month and is less than three weeks from his wedding. He’s finishing up his master’s at Georgia Tech, is rated number one in his battalion, and has been assigned to an elite unit with Cyber Joint Forces attached to the Pentagon. They are selling the GA house and moving to Ft. Meade, MD in August. So much excitement on their young plates. Once again, well done, son; good job, ChoatieCPT.
Dropping off our 14-year-old at Choate seems so long ago, but it’s been just as much a ride watching him navigate college and mature into the fine adult he’s become. I wish more BS parents (and student posters) would return to share this arc so those who are just embarking could see just how well the BS experience prepares their children to consume their college educations and launch confidently into adulthood. (Thanks for hanging around, @skieurope. Thanks for popping in when summoned @SevenDad.)
In addition to a strong HS education, BS gave our son many exposures he wouldn’t have had at home, not the least of which was enabling a no-sport kid to become a varsity athlete which enabled him to successfully compete for a service academy appointment. During his Choate years, we watched our film kid reconsider his future and his place in the world. BS took him outside of himself and instilled a deep understanding of the weight of the privilege he’d been given. Our jaws dropped when he told us he’d be applying to service academies instead of film schools, but perhaps we shouldn’t have been so surprised. His world view was changing in that immersive environment in ways we couldn’t see from home. We didn’t understand his choices at first but, with the distance we have now, we are so glad he had the courage to forge his own path against the “advice” of his parents. Though he’d always been an independent kid, we know that BS guided that independence and confirmed his agency such that he could choose with confidence a path we could never have seen for him.
So, a lot of rambling this overcast morning in the cabin as I sip my coffee and marvel at how our son’s life is unfolding. I never can consider who he is today without being grateful for everything he got from his BS experience, and I want all those who are just starting this journey to understand how deeply BS will transform their children and know that it’s OK to take your hand off the wheel and let that change happen, whatever it looks like, however it frightens you.
Best of luck to every one of you!