Well S19 has finally entered the “real world”! His time abroad came to an end and I got to have him home, off and on, for the past couple of months, which was nice but went by fast. He moved in town to live with a friend for now and can walk to his office which is newly renovated and sounds beautiful. He’s doing two weeks of training and flew to Dallas this morning for the second week. Thinking he’ll find out about his first project at the end of this week. It seems strange to think back over the last several years and all that led to this point. I’m glad he landed where he did and am hoping the work is enjoyable and not too much of a grind. Thanks for all the updates over the past few months. Hope everyone is doing well!
9 Likes
Hi all! Love seeing so many great updates -jobs, grad school, an engagement!! D19 is still in NYC but is back on the job hunt after being let go a few weeks ago. She was sad but not super surprised as they had created the job for her and often just didn’t have enough work for her. Some days she was crazy busy and then there would be a few days at a time with nothing to do. One problem is she has no clue what she is looking for so it’s almost like she is starting over.
She still loves living in NY and has even managed to handle the winter weather so far!
9 Likes
A few short months later, something has finally clicked with my D19 and her approach to the dating apps, and she’s been involved with three guys since. One of them she’s still seeing, and while it’s too early to call it serious, she’s having fun. We’re glad for her!
7 Likes
Nice to see this thread is active again, and I hope everyone is doing well. S19 will be home again in less than two weeks and will be able to finish his masters dissertation and exams at least mostly from here. He’s really enjoyed his time in Glasgow but luckily for us, he’s always happy to come back - perhaps it helps that he gets his laundry done for him here? He’s also now in the process of applying to about seven UK schools for his second masters program, this time in the subject he’s really interested in, which is sports psychology. The masters in Glasgow was a psychology conversion program, so somewhat a rehash of what he’d already learned as an undergrad. I think it was still a useful introduction to the UK system and will help him pick his next school. Turns out that fit is still the thing.
8 Likes
And just like that, it’s almost time for the 5 year class reunions! DD helped plan hers for the first weekend in May, but wasn’t sure she’d drive up for it when she has so many other events she’s coming here for this summer. But decided last week she would and combine the trip with a town festival she’s been wanting to go to.
Last night she attended an awards ceremony at the university where she works. Her grad assistant was chosen for an award where part of the app is about your mentor and their impact and she had written about DD so that was nice!
7 Likes
Hey everyone! Nice to catch up. DD is actually done all her classes for her masters will be using her third term to study for exams. She’s had a few friends visit her in the last month so she’s enjoying playing host- and she found out today that she got a full blue for gymnastics this year- a fun way to close out gymnastics in the UK. I can’t wait for her to be closer next year though. I miss my girl.
8 Likes
Congrats to your D for her success in gymnastics and for finishing her classes for her masters! Is she headed to Penn next for her PhD in Italian?
Last I updated, D19 was doing great in her accelerated nursing program in NYC, but feeling quite lonely. Since then, she has connected with friends of high school friends who live in the city, and that’s been fun. She comes home a lot, which DH, S24 and I love! She also visits D21 at their shared alma mater and invites all close-by classmates to gather. It’s exciting that she’s about 1/3 an RN!
Best wishes to all our 19s as they spread their wings!
8 Likes
She is headed to Penn next year. She’s taking a year off Middlebury since she hasn’t been home in so long- she’ll pick that up the following year. My husband will be retiring in about a year, so pretty soon we should all be located in the same geographical region again, which is nice- my girls especially miss each other.
I’m glad your daughter seems to have found her stride and her tribe!
6 Likes
D19 visited for the weekend for a joint Purim Party and my BDay. She seems really happy with her life in Boston, but is also strategizing for her applications to grad school this fall, though she also may be applying the next season, especially if there are potential advisers who won’t be looking for new students next year.
She is, as kids say “adulting”. Budgeting, meal planning, time organization, paying rent, etc. Evidently she really likes her housemates, and of course, one of them is her first year roommate. The two share food, so the first up makes coffee for two, and the one who has time in the evening will make supper for two, and they will either eat together or there will be food waiting for the one who comes in late. Her friend is celiac and a vegetarian, so D19 generally has meat a few times a week for lunch, and that’s also when she usually indulges in regular pasta or a sandwich.
She baked me a Bday cake and cupcakes, as well as hamantaschen for Purim (all were amazing).
It’s so great to see well she’s doing, but we do miss her…
PS. She also interviewed applicants for Midd for the first time last fall, and was disappointed when the one she really liked was not accepted…
10 Likes
Pretty cool that the updates keep coming! Fun to hear about everyone’s adventures, travels, engagements, etc. D19 did end up choosing Harvard for her PhD and the weather is just as cold and dreary as she feared - snow and hail in April, no less. But the other grad students are terrific and there’s so much to do. She joined a dance company and a book club, and enjoys going to ballet and ice skating performances when her schedule allows. She’s still in the midst of rotations and doesn’t know which lab she’ll be joining or where she’ll be living in the fall. All the uncertainty is stressing her out at the moment, but hopefully in a few months she’ll be all settled in somewhere and can take a break from Making Major Life Decisions for a few years.
11 Likes
After living and working in Philly for the past five years, D19 has finally decided she’s had enough and is planning to apply to grad school this cycle. I’m so relieved because living in Philly has not been good for her mental or physical health. Too little sun and nature combined with living in a food desert has taken its toll on her. She is desperate for a change but a lot of her targets are still on the east coast; I’m not sure she can have the lifestyle she prefers there. Personally, I’m excited for another round of college tours and spending some quality time with my girl.
10 Likes
Sorry to hear that your D19 has not liked living in Philly. My D19 likes it, but I also suspect that it helps a lot that she moved to Philly in 2019 with her then boyfriend, now husband. So she has had a partner the whole time. They get their nature fix on biking excursions to Wissahickon.
5 Likes
D19 has explored Wissahickon with her partner and enjoys their trips there. But it’s nothing like home where she could leave our house and almost immediately be on a trail headed into the mountains. Outdoor opportunities are plentiful here. The constant hum of the city, which used to excite her, has become unbearable. I just don’t think she realized how much living in a major east coast city would affect her wellbeing.
6 Likes
Goes to show that everyone is different. My D19 grew up in the suburbs, so the urban hum is something that she found new and is enjoying (for now). Also, her area of PhD study is urban economics, so maybe those two things are related, lol.
6 Likes
Could be! She’s definitely in a good place for that.
4 Likes
Hi everyone. Seems it’s been a while since I’ve been here. I checked into the 2026 thread for my X26 but ugh it’s the same non stop brag as it ever was. Nothing like this thread has been!
Well, D19 finally graduated this past May, and ended up making deans list every semester after her leave of absence so her final GPA is actually pretty decent. She doesn’t have a job yet, but the plan (partly based on her profs" advice) is 1-2 years work then apply to grad school. i think she really wants to be an academic, though also realistic about the life.
Summer”s been fine. D19 was here a bit, and her boyfriend (who we met at graduation for the first time) stayed a week, she’s at his /his parents home this week. This is the first one that’s been serious enough to bring across the country to stay at us… X26 is a counselor in training (would be counselor but not 16 yet) at the same camp they’ve been going to since 1st grade, art/science/makerspace type thing, and has decided they want to be an architect, which is a complete lack of surprise (they are talented with all of math, science and art), and I guess next year we start the college search as well as figuring what the best of the different pathways to getting there will be for them. (Most likely at this stage it seems a 4 year degree then M.Arch). I’m working from home for all July so that makes life a little more relaxed.
Hope you all having a great summer!
7 Likes
Thanks for the update! Congrats to your D on graduating and good luck to her in the job search. Does she know what field or kind of job she’ll be looking for?
I’m sure it’s nice to have some time with her this summer!
2 Likes
Yep, she’s looking for something ideally in publishing, which of course is notoriously difficult for entry level applicants…
1 Like
Welcome back!! It has indeed been a while - according to CC, it has been 7 months!
Encourage S26 - we desperately need architects who understand engineering.
When they built the Thomas M. Siebel Center for Computer Science, which won a bunch of awards, they decided that one double outlet was enough for an office if a CS faculty member, and the building has very few outlets altogether. They focussed on esthetics and ignored functionality entirely.
My D19 got the same advice from her profs (take a couple years to work before grad school), and she’s really happy that she took it.
Good luck to your D19! From what you told us of her, she seems like a very good candidate for such jobs.
3 Likes
Yes, it does seem that way. My D works in publishing and she was fortunate that she had some help getting an interview through an alum connection from her college.
2 Likes