What did you all do with your kids’ high school honor regalia? Letters, letterman jacket, JROTC ribbons, academic medals, etc?
I created a shadow box for many of my daughter’s items, using her grad cap as the background. However, how do you display such a thing without looking, ah, a bit behind the times (high school was so 5 minutes ago) and braggish? Right now it’s on a bottom shelf of a display case, toward the back. I figure mostly I’m the caretaker of “5 minutes ago” until she gets to the age of nostalgia.
If state colleges’ Honors colleges are some people’s substitute for an Ivy or otherwise elite education… I know at least in math it’s challenging me plenty. Just retook my first test today… even harder than the first attempt. I’m thinking that I got at least a 52 out of 100. If I can pick up 8 points in partial credit, I’d have a C. Well, that would beat my first score - a 29. The highest score on the first attempt of the first test was 52, with scores getting as low as single digits. I have one more retake. People that have taken this teacher’s classes say that his 3rd attempt is usually the easiest, the 2nd (which I just took) is usually the hardest.
I’m not taking this teacher again for Diff Eqs. He’s a nice guy and he clearly knows math, but he loves it far too much. He covered all this stuff about matrices that the regular Calc III classes aren’t covering at all… if Honors math means proofs, no thanks. I’m not a math major. We’re weeks behind the other calc III classes… people say we’ll do most of the class in the last month. Yikes. And there’s 6 more tests.
Thankfully my other classes are going okay right now. I’ve calculated that I can get a C in Calc III if I can get As in my other classes and still have above a 3.5. I’m thankful that it’s only a 3 unit class.
@LadyArwyn, I haven’t done anything with my daughter’s stuff. Her room is just as it is when she left it in June and we headed for the states for our summer there which ended with us leaving her at school. Since we live overseas in an apartment, it’s not like there is anyplace like an attic where I can store her stuff. It’s okay though, it’s not like anyone is going to use her room in the meantime, except her when she comes to visit.
D’s stuff will be put in a box and saved for her. She is home now on fall break and doing great. It took about 7-8 weeks for her to get adjusted socially to her school, but is now incredibly happy. I love having her home. Yesterday we went to one of her HS games and she is planning to do the same tonight with some friends who are also home on break.
Like NorthernMom61, D’s room in our house is as she left it, albeit cleaner than when she left it. I don’t think the she or we are ready to start packaging her stuff up quite yet.
My daughter was home from Friday evening till Sunday afternoon, although it was for a wedding and we were pretty darn busy the whole time! It was wonderful to have both my daughters at home, and older D helped younger D with some adulting issues that came up that younger D was procrastinating on completing. I was so happy to see here I said I would come pick her up for her 4 day Tgiving break.
D’s room is tidier than when she left for school–even though we started packing over 2 months before school started it ended up being a hectic last minute task featuring loads of angst and a lost kitten, which we were afraid had gotten packed in her stuff. It had to get cleaned up before she came back for fall break last weekend!
S has no fall break (and he’s on semesters not quarters) but we just returned from a 3-day Family Weekend and were able to spend some time with him though S18 spent the bulk of it with him. S18 spent Friday night in the dorm with S15 and also attended a football game with him. We enjoyed some great Minneapolis restaurants to give S a break from the awful dining hall food (sadly UMN has very bad food).
So S15 is already not planning to be in the dorms next year. I would have been fine with a university apartment on campus but the friends he wants to room with have a lower budget. They are looking not too far away but not as close as right on campus. In fact, since they are four - they are not even looking at apartments but at houses! I feel this is moving a bit fast - what are your kids doing for next year?
@singermom4, nothing definite yet, but D is planning on trying to get into a suite type dorm with two of the three roommates that she currently has, and other friends I think. She said the suites are two double bedrooms, two singles and the common area (small living room/kitchenette and bath???). We would rather she stay on campus and we don’t really have the ability to move furniture and whatnot that might be needed to share and apartment off campus. We got to move her into the dorm this year, but that may or may not be possible next year. As for moving out, we are going to have to impose on family or friends or possibly pay for packing and storage.
I stopped by to check in; catch up etc… Seems to be a few lulls in the activity? I suppose since all our kiddos have their heads down and digging in! :-?
We’ve been able to see S’15 3 or 4 times since launch. Benefits of staying close. He’s doing great!
@singermom4 - S’15 disagrees with your food assessment. He’s called it “5 star” more times than once. No complaints whatsoever.
S’15 pledged and is moving into their house on campus, next year. He’s “applied” for it and is 99% sure he’ll get in. He wants a school meal plan though!
Right now D15 is planning to stay on current dorm next year. Her HC living community is in a brand new dorm that really is like a hotel, if not as central as some other dorms. If she stays next year she should get pick of rooms or possibly apartment style rooms so she plans to ride it out for awhile.
D2 submitted an application for an off-campus apartment over the weekend and is planning on living there next year (and probably for all her remaining time at UKy). The cost of living in Lexington is actually pretty reasonable, and she should be able to bank around $2500 of her scholarship each year to save towards grad school expenses. The only downside is that it’s a 12 month lease, but it’ll make the remaining years’ pick-ups and drop-offs much easier, and if she opts for any summer research/jobs/etc. then housing is already taken care of.
My daughter thinks her roomie is going through her stuff. Nothing has been taken, just - altered. She’s not sure if she wants to confront her roomie or not. Nothing is broken, just out of place.
A girl in the dorms was found dead tonight. Rumor has it that it was suicide - officially they’ve only ruled out foul plat. I don’t know the person. No one can sleep tonight, I was out talking with friends and my RA, lots of people are in the hallways and lounges… I know this stuff happens, and it’s so sad. Yikes.
@albert69 … That’s terrible, and terrifying to parents with kids away at school. We trust that we have raised our children to communicate with us in stressful times and tell them that nothing is so bad that it warrants ending your life…but there are still some that think there’s no other way out. Parents/children…hug each other every chance you get and reaffirm that there’s NOTHING that can’t be discussed and overcome. Prayers for that girl’s family.
LadyArwyn if nothing was broken or stolen I would do two things: I would ask the RA how to handle this and I would lock up anything that could be locked up. The RA should be able to give her tips on how to confront the roommate without sounding accusatory and possibly putting the roommate on the defensive. It is fine to confront her but I would first figure out the best way to do it. Of course she could just come right out and say, “hmmm I left all of my shoes here yesterday and today they are over there. I do not remember moving them…I wonder what happened?”
albert69 I am so sorry to hear about this. This is absolutely terrifying and the worst possible phone call that a parent can get. Thoughts and prayers for the family.
So sorry to hear that @albert69, so true, one of the worst nightmares for a family. My heart goes out to this anonymous girl’s family. Take good care of yourself.
Thanks everybody, I ache for the family as well as her suitemates and friends… from what I’ve heard, there is at least one suitemate and likely 2 others - I think it was a 4 private. The rumors are flying of course… everybody says it was suicide, some guy said she left a note on her locked door and one of her suitemates found it, but it was too late. (He claimed to have gotten that information from his roommate, who is the vice-president of the university’s son, who got that information from him.) One person said that she hung herself… who knows. Another one said that they haven’t been able to contact the family yet - which might have been true because there was a news article posted a couple hours ago in which it sounded like they were still trying to contact the family (aka they aren’t releasing more information until they get in contact with the family.)
It’s so sad. It’s odd, to be so close yet feeling so far…
There is so much confidentiality and laws in play, you may or may not ever know the whole truth. I hope there is some crisis response available to the students who found her, lived with her, or were close to her.
