Orientation - Parents Still in 'competitive' mode

apple17
Thu, 27 Jul 2006 09:40:52 +0000

Actually, when we came home, I was telling this to my husband, and my son chimed in that some of the kids were doing something similar. He was struck with the variety of personalities of the kids. I guess his roommate was ‘the partier’, there were ‘the nerds’, ready to play video games, there were ‘the status seekers’, ready to talk about which schools accepted them and their accomplishments, ‘the townies’ who came from close by, and ‘the normal kids’, like him (don’t we all define normal as ourselves??).

My S has always been good at knowing who he is and choosing appropriate friends, so I have little worry about him getting caught up in this. We started the selection process late (last September) and on April 28th, I told my son he had to choose and reminded him that any college he picked from his acceptances would be fine. On May 1st, it was a done deal. College picked, deposit sent. That’s history in our house.

I just was really surprised that parents (and, I guess, kids) were still in this mode. I think it’s a shame. If anyone has suggestions for good responses, I would appreciate it.