DD received much of her grades and fortunately, she passed her math/calc b class! Iām very happy for her that she passed and does not have to repeat it. She can now put that class behind her and focus on succeeding in her next semesterās classes. Although her gpa took a hit, going from a 3.75 to a 3.45, thatās ok. She can learn from her mistakes and continue to improve since she has three more years. I told her just try to get her gpa up above a 3.5-3.6, if she can, an attainable goal.
I shared with her that everyone in the family struggled with a class as well, some repeating the class because of how poorly we did. For me, it was Evidence, for my wife OChem, and for my son Calculus. For each of us, we turned out fine! Iām sure she will, too!
D24 shared with me today that even the Braggy Pants girl from senior year apparently is having problems adjusting at collegeā¦Braggy Pants is the girl who humble bragged about how horrible she thought her SAT score was because it was āonly a 1560.ā Sheās attending the our state flagship university totally for free with a Stamps scholarship.
Braggy Pants decided to be roommates with a friend from HS, and went home every weekend, and didnāt make any new friends freshman year, and pretty much only spends time with her HS friend/roommate, her boyfriend (who was a senior in HS this year, and her sister.
Braggy Pants is also the same girl who last year blurted out in class one day that āMale Student Name is sure to get a bunch of scholarships because heās black and poor.ā Her definition of āpoorā is āparent canāt buy you a car for your 16th birthday.ā
D24 and 1 of her BFFs are talking about doing a sleepover soon at our house.
D24 looked at the course descriptions of a couple of classesā¦Intro to Health Professions, Intro to Public Health, and Ethics & Medicine, said that they all āsound cool.ā
Learned that class registration for fall is still open so she can switch her classes pretty much any time. Sheās going to decide over the next few days and DH and I have promised to not bring up school at all for a few days so she has time to chill and think.
I took a class on medical ethics this semester and I can vouch for the course that itās amazing but also mind-bending at the same time. My class was a cross-registration with Philosophy, and our class was taught by a Philosophy professor. We were taught the principles of medical ethics (autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, and justice) and spent the majority of our time analyzing medical cases. Often we ended up arguing over ethical dilemmas involving the principles and other things like ancillary care, placebos, and more.
Overall the class was really nice - Iād think that your D24 would enjoy it!
School year ended for D24 a little less than 3 weeks ago. She then had a week free before starting her CNA certification class. We spent that time traveling to L.A. for an early summer vacation to Disneyland and then back home. She was also able to get a job this summer working at the same restaurant that her sister has been working at for the last year. So plan is to get her CNA certification in so that she can work at a hospital next summer if she is not part of the summer start for upper level nursing. Grades came through and while she didnāt do as well as she wanted (she did not enjoy her Buddhism class), sheās still on track. D20 finished up all the pre-reqs she needed to take for ABSN / MEPN programs in nursing. She found out she got into the one program she applied to (MEPN at Duke) but it would cost her well over $100k in loans so she had to decline. That was a blow to her but around the same time she got offered a spot as a CNA in one of our main hospitals. Itās a program where she can try out several CNA spots (incl. med surg, ER, cardiac, step-down, gastro, etc.) and then choose where she would like to work. She spent the last week in orientation and will be workin 3 night shifts a week going forward. I think sheās going to apply to some nursing programs (cheaper ones) for next year but at least she finally has a job in health care as she has wanted. Sheās also keeping her restaurant job (moving to part time) as she is trying to earn as much money as she can so that sheāll have less loans to take out for a nursing degree. I wish I was made of money at times like this and could help both girls financially with unlimited resources, but that is not the case. D20 knows that I got her through her undergrad program with minimal loans and now any further education is up to her while I try to do the same for D24. I am just wishing them both the best.
So the tournament was a blast. Such a great group of kids and families. In fact although the team did not do quite as well as they hoped, they won the Team Spirit award for the tournament. We met S24ās girlfriend, had a day to do local sites with my brother who drove up . . . just a lot of fun.
And characteristically, we gradually learned a bunch of the boys including ours had flights out today, but no accommodation plans for last night. We figured it out for themānothing like a cheap two-star motel near the airport to cap off a great trip!ābut I do wonder what would have happened otherwise.
I havenāt posted in a long while, but I do pop in from time to time. I need to catch up with the last month or so of posts, but thought Iād drop an update.
D24 had a great first year. She left high school with severe anxiety and other health issues, and extremely introverted. She came back a new person with a crew of friends and so much confidence. Academically, she came away with As and Bs. She did drop a class she was struggling with in her second semester, but no harm done. Sheās ahead on her requirements thanks to AP credits. All in all, itās more than I could have asked for. Sheās home now and working this summer as ābeach securityā which essentially means she sits at one of the stops and makes sure that anyone coming to the beach is a resident. Rough.
Her brothers are also doing well. S19 finished his first year teaching in Louisville successfully. Iām still amazed that heās a full-on adult now. S24 finished his senior year at Williams and is now on Cape Cod enjoying some time before graduation in two weeks. Then, heās got a job at MIT waiting for him - which I also canāt believe. Crazy.
S24 is busy working at clinic, heās speaking Spanish 90% of the time which is awesome. He says the patients love him and are surprised when heās so fluent, his greatest asset is his people skills. Heās been giving lots of vaccines which he enjoys haha.
Ready to go home, miss my boy. Itās been an incredible year, very grateful for the memories with D25.
Best sport ever! Glad you enjoyed the tournament. We loved every minute of it, too, and appreciated our perfect (and unlikely) PNW weather. My D21ās team made it to the final 8. Team spirit award is big and well-deserved. Iām sad itās over. Until next year!
D24 heard back from her advisor, who told her that she needs to contact the Registrarās office in order to drop the 2 classes and sign up for other ones. I made her pick up the actual phone and CALL and they told her they can make the changes but she has to send them an email; canāt do it over the phone.
Advisor is also teaching the Intro to Public Health class sheās trying to add. He told her this morning that even if the class ends up full by the time sheās able to get things cleared up w/the Registrarās office, he will give his approval for her to be added to the class. So thatās a relief.
D24 was home for one week before off to her summer internship/study abroad. 23 hour journey and she landed last night. She sounded so exhausted this morning, apparently going to sleep at 9pm but waking up at 3am. When we spoke to her 7:45am her time, she sounded tired and a bit grumpy. She texted a few hours later that she had a bad headache. Oh no. Thankfully, she felt better an hour later and is now with her larger group. Hope itās just jet lag! Nothing a little sleep, some water or Powerade and a Tylenol wonāt help I hope.
S24 also finished up a successful year. Totally enjoyed his new friend group, fully invested in his classes and did extremely well. WE had the conversation last night that although I was hesitent to be full pay at his LAC even when he was absolutely sure it was the right place for him, it was definitely the right place! And even more impressively he is more invested in music and loving the experience than he ever has been, and probably more than if he would have been at a conservatory.
S21 started his summer internship yesterday after a sad week missing friends and absolutely loves it. Exactly what he wants to do and hoping it will become a permanent job in the fall.
Have to say it is both wonderful and annoying to have everyone here again, so many snacks!
In other exciting news, D24 finally unpacked and put away all of the bags, crates and boxes from her move home. It took three weeks, but I really thought it was all going to sit there until she went back in August. Her boyfriend is coming to visit next week, so I think that was the impetus.
D24 heard back from the Registarās office later that day in response to the email she sent them with the class changes she needed, so now sheās all set for her fall classes. She will have a lighter course load this semester, with the equivalent of 12-13 units instead of 15-16. Hoping for a better semester this fall than in the spring.
It makes me happy that we did a storage unit for most of her stuff! We did bring bedding home and that is all washed and put away for fall. The rest is mostly her clothes and electronic stuff. Not too terrible.
We flew out to move 24ās belongings into storage and bring her home. Then she had a week off and before started her summer research position on Wednesday. Unfortunately, her commute time has been running two hours (each way), so this weekend, we are moving her into a sublet on the other side of the city. As everything is in storage 1000 miles away, we ended up buying yet another set of sheets for her today.
Sheāll be working on campus and staying nearby on Tuesday through Thursday, and with us Friday through Monday. She was able to attend an exposition today where she remarked that she thinks she may have frightened a few grad students with her enthusiasm.
She was sad to note that one of her expected lab mates is not there due to visa issuesā¦
Apparently NiceUnparticularMom bought large quantities of the wrong protein drink (she should have been more particular!). I aināt drinking it (well, unless it pairs well with bourbon . . .).
Meanwhile S24 tried out for and made an adult club team, so he is off to a tournament today. Had to get going at 545am for a 3.5 hour drive. Definitely an āinterestingā choice for a summer activity.
Iām very happy for her that she passed and does not have to repeat it. She can now put that class behind her and focus on succeeding in her next semesterās classes. Although her gpa took a hit, going from a 3.75 to a 3.45, thatās ok. She can learn from her mistakes and continue to improve since she has three more years. I told her just try to get her gpa up above a 3.5-3.6, if she can, an attainable goal.
