My D is doing very well. She loves her college, her dorm, and even the cafeteria food! (Which was a surprise since her college had made the list of the 10 worst colleges for food – but apparently there was a major upgrade to the food over the summer and she is the lucky recipient of all the changes). We are heading towards spring break now, and I can’t wait because I really miss her. She is having a blast though and doesn’t seem to mind being 3,000 miles away from home.
Hey everyone, thanks for the updates. My husband and I were just talking about how great it feels to be at this place right now. Our daughter loves her school, is doing very well academically, has her housing selected for next year, and has experienced so many “firsts” this year that it just keeps things exciting.
I so agree with @OHMomof2 that it is amazing to be at this point. When I think back on my daughter’s senior year, it was insane. She juggled so many things to take advantage of a number of great opportunities that she had last year, plus all the college and scholarship application activities, and the stress of waiting and figuring out which option was the best for her, not to mention her parents worrying about how to pay for it all year. I am so glad to be on this side of it. My heart goes out to all of the families with seniors who are still in the thick of it.
My daughter did apply for some internships for the summer as well. Should hear back in the next month or so. We think they are long shots, but they are “no shots” if one doesn’t apply. Over winter break she was in her room organizing her game plan for completing the applications and I heard a lot of groaning (maybe screaming?, LOL) when the list of essays she had to write was being made. Last year she wrote sooooooo many essays for things, we started to think that everything senior year was one big essay contest. But she is a very good writer and apparently got through these and got the applications submitted.
Like @woodmom, I am loving the adult conversations too. The young adult woman that is emerging is making us so proud everyday. And Skype and other technology is great. As a great example, my daughter played in a band concert on Sunday and I googled her school and the theme of the concert and lo and behold someone took a video of the concert with their phone and uploaded it onto YouTube. The best part was that I could see my daughter in the video quite a few times. How cool is that?
I am so glad to hear that your kids are doing great too.
S is doing great too. While not great friends with the new roommate, they seem to be getting along just fine. Finally got him to sign up for housing for next year so now we (I?) will be anxiously waiting to hear this summer if he got in since he did it pretty late.
First semester was pretty easy but sounds like he is being much more challenged this semester but still doing fine. Spends most of his spare time on the ME race car team which has been great for meeting people and he seems to be communicating more with friends from classes too.
An internship isn’t on his radar for this summer since he will be doing drum corps again. He seems to really be making some close friends there too since they have monthly weekend-long rehearsal camps.
Oh and now I am in the best shape I have been in years because I actually have time to go to the gym on a regular basis! (The empty-nest thing has not been bad at all.)
So glad to hear everyone’s kids are doing so well. It is nice not to have to be worrying about tests, visits and apps!
D is humming right along with school. She has a heavier schedule this semester so she is more busy, but she is actually happy about that because she was sooo bored last semester. Loves her Biology class, has a great set of lab partners. And, apparently, has peaked the interest of a young man who lives in the hall next to hers. She sat down at his table for lunch not expecting anything, he proceeds to tell her that he has seen her around and wanted to talk with her. They sat in the dining hall for 5 hours talking! So thrilled! D15 is very shy so this is such great news to hear. They are going to be watching some movies this weekend so hopefully all goes well. She is trying to arrange for her brother, who has Spring Break the week before her and will be heading down to Tennessee to pick her up and bring her home for her spring break on their way back. Hopefully that works out, would be nice not to make one 7+ hour trip to pick her up.
It’s been a great year for our D as well. She’s enjoying her school and the surrounding city even though she, like woodsmom’s D, is not enjoying the dining hall food. Not to worry, she has all sorts of interesting food options around her and has learned to sniff out all the free food offerings on campus. (I don’t know about the rest of you but I never had all these sponsored study breaks with smores and pizza and mochi.) She seems to be taking advantage of lots of opportunities and is enjoying meeting people very different from herself.
I’m with all of you in that I don’t miss the stress of high school and the application process. It is amazing to be at this point for sure.
@STEMFamily, I’ve had more regular gym time too. There are definitely some up sides to the empty nest.
I love reading all the updates!
My daughter loves her roommate but she said they’re not compatible to live together so she’s talking to some other friends about rooming together next year. She is auditioning to see if she can get into the Musical Theater program this weekend. Bernie Sanders is on her campus today, but she has midterms so she’s only going to the rally for a bit and then off to the practice room. She performed for vocal students a few weeks ago and a friend of hers recorded the performance, it was great to hear her sing again and she was so confident, it was amazing to see. She made two very close friends the first semester and now she said she has been embraced by the love of the Conservatory, so she’s feeling much more like she fits in and belongs there.
I am also benefitting from the empty nest, not only by going to the gym more frequently (4 days a week after work and Saturday mornings with my husband), but there is no Doctor Who on my TV - no offense to Whovians, I like some of the show, but I don’t want to watch it and nothing else!
It is nice to see all of these fabulous updates!
My D is also humming right along. She loves the school, is doing well, and has a really nice group of friends. Her course load does seem a little heavier this semester, which sounds maybe like that is par for the course. Summer plans are to come home and work. I suspect, though, that this will be the last summer for that.
Unlike most of you, I do not yet have an empty nest. D2 is a sophomore and we are gearing up for that lovely junior year craziness. I definitely will need to hit the gym more just to manage the stress of that again. 
D is also doing very well at her school. She found a nice group of college democrats amongst the overwhelmingly conservative-leaning student body. She and her roommate get along well and plan to request a 4-bdrm (singles) apartment next year with two other girls. D is looking forward to being with friends but having her own space. She also is looking forward to having a kitchen so she doesn’t have to always eat at D-hall. She said that she plans to request kitchenware for her birthday. He course load is also more intense this semester. She said it is good training for next year. She is taking two freshman classes and two upper div classes this semester. Also found out that she got an 8-week internship this summer that fulfills a requirement for her minor. She will only be home for about 3 weeks in August! The fledgling has flown. :-<
After a kind of bumpy first semester, D and her roommate divorced. The roommate moved out, no one moved in so essentially D has an extra large single. The roommate had custody of the refrigerator so I sent her one via Amazon when second semester began - very small price to pay for peace. She hosted a Japanese student visitor for a week; she hopes she will be able to visit the sister Japanese university in the future. She’s found a good group of friends and is finding out more about herself. She’s hearing much the same thing that I did as a college student - I hope she actually listens to them (I didn’t). Next year, she’s opting for a single and I wholeheartedly support her decision. Now she’s trying to figure out her summer.
Has anyone else noticed the preponderance of parents here have daughters? I wonder why that is…
Hadn’t noticed that @1203southview, but now that you mention it…not sure the reason either. I am really impressed by how well all of these offspring, whatever gender, seem to be doing at their schools too. My husband and I comment often about just how happy we are that she is happy. I realize every now and then that she will never again “live” with us, and it doesn’t make me sad anymore, I am way more excited about what is yet to come. It really has been an exciting year once we got over the initial shock of the empty nest.
Hey everybody, I’m doing alright. My classes are going okay so far. I have gotten in contact with a recruiter who has put my resume into her system, and says she will let me know if any positions are open that would be a fit for me. (She networks with a lot of companies.) Spring days in KS are quite pretty!
@albert69 … Glad to hear everything is going well for you. Hopefully the recruiter can help you find some good internships and get your foot in the door with some of those aerospace bigwigs!!
We’re battling the winds (again) here in MI. ~X( Flew the organ transplant team a few nights ago and landed with direct crosswinds gusting to 42 knots. That was…sporty.
@albert69 Quite a bit greener there than home?
Hey all, I’m not a parent or in the HS Class of 2015, but I am the kid sister of @albert69, so I thought I’d say hi 
@CharlotteLetter Welcome! 
@CharlotteLetter … Welcome to our little neighborhood!! Things were a lot more hectic here this time last year when we (and your big sister) were heading into the home stretch on college choices, scholarships, financial aid, etc. so you’re catching us at a time when we’re (relatively) more sane. 8-}
@albert69 has laid out a great blueprint for finding the right fit school and making the most of her opportunities. You should be proud of her, and we’ll look forward to hearing how your college search progresses.
@CharlotteLetter You should be very proud of your big sister.
I can’t even escape my sister on here! Lol, thanks for the compliments, everyone. It is greener, though I haven’t been off campus much. I generally just walk outside and think - gee, it’s really nice out… but I’m going to class. :-S