<p>Reporting from Mizzou Humans vs. Zombies (HVZ) Competition. DS2 stayed alive from Wednesday afternoon until last night when nearly all the remaining humans were “ambushed and massacred during a mission.” I have no idea what any of that means but he sure had fun carrying Nerf guns around campus for five days. So much fun that he is thinking about driving to Truman State two weeks from now to play the same game with a friend from Missouri Scholars Academy.</p>
<p>So yesterday, we got the “I died” text. And today this text: “Destroyed the Physics Test!” I consider myself pretty lingo-literate but I really wasn’t sure how to take that. So I asked for a “translation.” Answer was 48/50. Life is still very good.</p>
<p>No fall break at Mizzou. They get the entire week of Thanksgiving off, however. That’s very nice. This is the week of Mizzou’s Centennial Homecoming. You just can’t imagine what a big deal this is. 4,839 pints of blood donated. Tons of non-perishable food. Tonight was the first night of talent competition. Huge decorations built in front of Greek houses with “shows” at each from 6 to 9 on Friday night. A parade Saturday morning. Football game at 1 p.m. </p>
<p>I am experimenting with tailgate recipes since it’s the Centennial Homecoming. Tonight, I made jalapeno cornbread and cinnamon sweet cornbread. Tomorrow night, apple crsip with apples I picked with my D-in-L and grandson last week.</p>
<p>I love fall! Football, great friends, good food, gorgeous trees, pagentry. Hope you all get to experience at least some of that.</p>
<p>Just wanted to check in and say hi…glad to hear all the positive reports and sending cyber hugs to anyone struggling…MOB, I hope your D is feeling better after her Friday night adventure. It’s wonderful that she thought to call you in her time of need but I’m sure that was a very tough call to get.</p>
<p>My D’s also have today and tomorrow off…D1 met her hs bff in NYC for one day and then went to DC to visit a school friend doing a ‘semester in DC’. Came home today to meet up with D2 who visited HS friends at Princeton until going to Phil to spend the night in her sister’s sorority…love that they’re together now–we’re supposed to have a skype date shortly :)</p>
<p>D2 attends school in a very remote area – a new friend’s parents very generously picked up the two girls from school and D spent the night at the friend’s house. Sat morning the parents drove D to the train station and handed her a bag of treats for the ride. D will send a thank you note but I was thinking I might too–is that overkill? We didn’t know of these plans during parents weekend but we were introduced to one another…it’s a very small school and seems to have a tight community. I’d kind of like these very nice parents to know how much I appreciate their kindness and generosity and that, given the opportunity, we’d love to have their D out our way…thoughts?</p>
<p>collage1, I don’t think it is ever wrong to write a thank you note.</p>
<p>Last year, my D’s senior year of high school, we picked up one of her friends every morning and took her to school because both of her parents left for work very early. We did it because that is what we would have liked someone else to do if we were in that position.</p>
<p>At Christmas time the parents gave us an American Express gift card as a thank you, it was totally unexpected. (and totally appreciated!)</p>
<p>So, we wrote them a thank you note for their thank you gift card! It seems funny to thank someone for their thanks, but they were very genersous in their thanks and it seemed the right thing to do.</p>
<p>I don’t think people can be too polite, so write the thank you if you want to.</p>
<p>College1 - IMHO a thank you note is never in poor taste if it is sincere. I’d send one as well if moved by generosity by another parent towards my child. </p>
<p>OWM - love the ZVH update! Sounds like homecoming is going to be amazing. Have a wonderful time! Your tailgate sounds yummy!! we have some good cooks here! I love fall as well. We don’t get to tailgate at home games as the parking for tailgating is reserved for donors to the athletic dept/season ticket holders. The higher the dollar, the better the spot. We’re doing good to pay tuition!! When we retire to sleepy little college town and are closer maybe then…</p>
<p>Collage1: I agree with the others who have said that a sincere thank you is never in poor taste. They were very kind to your daughter – feel free to let them know that you appreciate it.</p>
<p>EB: Happy that your D will be home for Thanksgiving! She might be surprised to find that she’s eager to go back after a short break. It might be just what she needs.</p>
<p>EAO1227: It sounds as if your D could use a visit. There’s been a lot of change and it will probably do her good to see the new house and to be able to visualize your family there.</p>
<p>Kathie - I was thinking the same thing not too long ago. I don’t think she joined us after the jump to the new thread…anyone else remember?</p>
<p>NOTE: Edit to add, her last post was 7/6 but last activity was 2am this morning so she may be reading…We’d love to know how you and songbird are if you feel like popping in to update us!!! :)</p>
<p>I am really enjoying my coffee this AM…D1’s break was this past weekend, they had Monday off so the dorms cleared out. I was able to have dinner with her on Friday night but then I left to go to the mid-Atlantic for college tours with D2 - Yes, I do need to have my head examined! </p>
<p>D1 has calmed down quite a bit and it does look like she is going to stick out the entire year…she may still change majors next semester but now that is even in question. She even mentioned the housing she was interested in for next year very briefly so that may be a good sign.</p>
<p>What is emerging ever so slowly, piece by piece is a complete breakdown in her self-confidence…which is so out of character for her. Panic about her calculus test which she got 20/20, panic about her first real arch critique, and her social panic about being stranded in the city by so called “friends” alone late at night. </p>
<p>For those of you that are not familiar with the arch crtique process - each student has to present their project in front of a panel of arch professors with all of their peers watching and then itis critiques by the professors…it typically is a brutal process because they will not hold anything back. It is dreaded by most students and very intimidating.</p>
<p>It is my understanding that her interpretation of their recent assignement ended up being very different than many of her peers - her peers presented elaborate designs and she took the clean, simple, functional with a twist approach. Prior to the critique she was being teased by her studio mates about her project - well guess what? Unlike her peers that received alot of criticism, her critique went like this, “I really like this, well done.” Next. So now she has had some success and now thinks she needs to do another project before she makes a decision.</p>
<p>She spent the weekend with her Dad, dog, and some friends that happened to be home…and she seems renewed…so, I am not sure where the rollar coaster will go but I am hoping that is sidelined for a while.</p>
<p>D2’s college tour proved to be successful, she definitely has decided she wants big D1 experience…so at least that narrows it down.</p>
<p>D is coming home next weekend. Yay! After reading may of the reports here about sick kids, I was so glad that D had managed to stay healthy. Yesterday she texted, “still feeling kind of sick.” Hmm…I guess she didn’t text when she was more sick.</p>
<p>momofboston: Good for your daughter for sticking with her instincts and presenting her design in her own way. I hope that was a confidence-builder for her. It’s tough for any of us to trust our instincts when peer pressure/societal trends tell us to go another way; it’s is especially tough in a new environment like freshman year in college. I love simple with a twist!</p>
<p>MOB: I’m so glad that your D is feeling better and got such great feedback on her assignment. Freshman year can be very intimidating, and a lot of kids lose confidence. I still remember that scenario with one of my friends back in the day at JHU. She came from a small town and had always been the smartest girl in her class. She really struggled with calc 3 first semester and started to freak out. She then accepted that she might get 'A’s on everything but could still succeed in this intense environment. She’s now a successful MD.</p>
<p>OWM, Mizzou sounds like a lot of fun! It’s great that you get to share it.</p>
<p>Wishing nice visits for the families whose kids are coming home this weekend.</p>
<p>D is coming home this weekend. I’m keeping expectations low. She’ll probably sleep til noon, then take the car and disappear for 12 hours. One of her HS friends will be home the same weekend, so they’ll probably hang out together.</p>
<p>At least I’ll have the car ride from the airport with her…</p>
<p>Classof2015: My D2 sounds like your D. She only slept at home 1 of the 3 nights while she was home. We did manage to snag her for some meals, however.</p>
<p>MOB - so glad you got a chance to talk things out with your D. Isn’t that a nice feeling?</p>
<p>One story D2 told us last night was about a big project she had in one of her theatre classes. She, too, was panicked - when it came time to present, she realized everyone had done a poster, and she had done a very unconventional format. She was sure she would get reamed, maybe even hear that she hadn’t done the assignment properly at all. As you can probably guess, the prof said to her afterwards that her creativity and unique take on the project made it the best he’d seen. He talked to her for a long time about how she had come up with the idea, and she found it a terrific learning experience.</p>
<p>momofboston, I hear two things. It’s great that all went well and some of the panic is gone, but I wonder if a) it might be a good idea for her to see a counselor about building self-confidence (cognitive behavioral therapy is probably exactly what would help); and b) there is an open question if she likes architecture enough to live through the 4 years of its instructional process/frenetic craziness. See my comments below on architecture as a career. But, I think the main thing is to realize she can indeed do the work. </p>
<p>When I entered as a freshman from a public HS at one of HYP back in the dark ages, two of my three roommates were valedictorians. I took a pretty hard freshman schedule (Linear Algebra or Multivariable Calculus, Physics, Statistics, Literature, and something else I can’t recall, maybe personality theory). I was scared I didn’t belong there so I worked incredibly hard for 6 weeks and finished all the assigned work for the semester except for the literature papers. I got A’s on all of the tests and quizzes and problem sets in that period. Then my confidence grew. It sounds like the same could happen to her, and even if she doesn’t get all A’s, she’ll realize she can do the work and is up to the challenge. The cognitive behavioral therapy could be helpful to the extent that it would help her connect her real results with her self-image. No need to live life panicked about the tasks she is going to have to do. </p>
<p>I have a number of friends who are architects. They enjoy their work, but architects are the low man on the construction industry totem pole. When the economy swings down, they are the first expense to be cut but when it comes back, they don’t (on the whole) make a big killing. So, higher risk, lower reward. My friends who are successful are, first and foremost, really good business people who own their own firms and have specific niches (e.g., biotech labs for universities and companies). The others get laid off in the down turns and get their salaries back in the up-turn. It is thus a career for people who both love it and are good business people. It strikes me as not a great career path for people who want to be employees.</p>
Disagree…H is an architect, loves what he does and does not care whether he is the low man or high man. He is not a business person either and is happy just to work for a firm rather than having his own. Sure he has his ups and downs in his career, but so are others.</p>
<p>MOB-Hope you D stick out for the Architecture major and the most important thing is she has to love what she does. There is a growing number of female architects these days and I have met some who are presidents or principles of firms. The program requires hard work. It is an “Architorture” as a parent of an architecture student told me onetime. Best luck to your D!</p>
<p>sunnydayfun, I guess you would say it is a career for people who love it, even if they want to be employees. I have seen a bit less happiness among the employee types, but maybe they don’t love it enough. Incidentally from what I hear, a relative shortage of architects in Canada.</p>
we have some good cooks here! I love fall as well. We don’t get to tailgate at home games as the parking for tailgating is reserved for donors to the athletic dept/season ticket holders. The higher the dollar, the better the spot. We’re doing good to pay tuition!! 
When we retire to sleepy little college town and are closer maybe then…</p>
Best luck to your D!</p>