It’s ironic that there is actually too much college admissions content. You can go on YouTube and there are a ton of videos that discuss the entire college admissions process.
However, no matter how many videos you watch or podcasts you listen to, no one really knows what the actual outcomes will be.
I equate college admissions content to listening to economists trying to predict the economy. They have data. They have historical trends and markers. But they literally have no idea what will happen tomorrow. They can only make educated guesses and you can have a wide variety of opinions that are completely different.
Oh the True Blood book series was such guilty pleasure, lol. It totally went off the rails halfway through, but I loved it anyway. And the show was so fun, even if Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer’s southern accents were actively terrible.
I love TL, too! And Shrinking almost as much. What’s funny is my S25 thought he was going to have a film/TV class this semester where they focused on TL, so he talked my D22 into watching it with him this past summer. And then they ended up switching the topic of the class, lol. But both enjoyed the series – plus sibling bonding time – so it was worth it.
In fact, my S25 went as Ted Lasso for Halloween. I shared this over in the Class of 2025 thread, but we drove to see him the day before Halloween to attend a film competition he’d entered, and the theme was horror, so they asked kids to come in costume.
We met up with him at the school bookstore, but it was exactly when registration had opened for next semester, so he came and greeted us, then found a corner and sat on the floor and registered for his classes. In costume.
I’m also not a big podcast person – used to hate them, but I’m starting to come around. Mostly because I get tired of people blathering on, especially the sort who clearly just like to hear themselves talk. Bleagh. My husband, on the other hand, is always listening to a podcast, and he’ll tell me about episodes that he thinks I’ll particularly like. Plain English by Derek Thompson is his favorite, and I’ve gotten sucked into some of those episodes.
I had to look up hyperlexia. That’s so interesting! My D22 was a very late talker but an incredibly precocious reader – she was obsessed with flash cards at age 2, watched Leapfrog Letter Factory about 3 billion times, and then begged me to teach her to read properly when she turned 3. So, I did. (The Reading Lesson: Teach Your Child to Read in 20 Easy Lessons was a godsend.) It was interesting because I also had newborn preemie twins with health issues at the time, so that was a chaotic summer, lol. But as soon as she was reading competently, she never wanted me to read to her again.
That may be true, but a lot of college admissions content is a lot more specific and nuanced than who will get into what school. YCBK, for example, does a lot of different college profiles, talks about the stress associated with the process, plus a whole host of topics.
There’s one woman I’ve watched for a long time who just a did a video on 5 ways you can have AI help on writing a college essay and still be ethical. (Which might be horrifying on a whole other level, but you see my point.)
I also like Harlan Cohen’s content a lot for students, as well as Suzanne Hanna’s.
Well I’m up at 4:30 am… no idea why . Working today then we leave for NOLA to my in laws. S24 flying and meeting us there. Then we all drive back Saturday and he’ll grab a ride back to school Sunday.
We have fun stuff planned including a riverboat cruise, a 5 mile race and great dinners out. There’s a benefit to having family in New Orleans, lol.
We saw Wicked on Friday, D26 went again last night and she’s gearing up for Stranger Things. It’s a fun week over here. Great way to refocus away from college stress.
I love podcasts if they are not too long, have great guests or fun content and not too serious. I despise audiobooks. I get lost quickly. I’d rather see the words in front of me.
This is so interesting to me because I have never liked being read to, always hated talk radio, podcasts, audiobooks, etc. My husband and I drove from DC to Hilton Head once and I was tortured for the entire drive listening to some audiobook. He couldn’t;t understand why I hated listening so much. I thought I was just particular.
The HAPPY/GOOD stuff- S24 is home. He arrived last Thursday and has been seeing friends, sleeping most of the day and so happy to be home with the pets. He has had some mental health challenges since freshman year and thankfully seems to be ok for now- thank god b/c with everything else I am dealing with and worried about I am not sure I could handle more. Saturday was the Powderpuff game and D26 played- it was so fun to see her on the field playing- she was ALL in! Our high school won which was so fun! Today is Senior Skip Day. They have pep rally Wednesday and are out by noon, then the big Thanksgiving football game against our town rivals on Thanksgiving morning. It will just be the four of us on Thanksgiving which I am relieved about- I don’t think I could handle hosting anyone or planning a big meal right now. S24 flies home Friday to go to the Iron Bowl (Auburn and Bama football game).
Since 2017 Thanksgiving has felt sad due to the fact that we got the call my father was terminal and had about a week left the day before Thanksgiving. I flew down Black Friday to spend four days with him and then he passed 11/29/17). So Thanksgiving since then always has this heavy feeling for me. Now with all the craziness going on with my mother, here we are again at this time of year. I actually just returned from spending a horribly sad and stressful week abroad, trying to figure out care for her. It is almost unbelievable to imagine her current situation. I actually reached out to a therapist for STAT sessions because I feel like I am spiraling
The next two weeks will be likely extremely hard emotionally and stressful in a way I have never experienced. I am hopeful that things will improve after what needs to happen and fall into place actually happens with regards to my mother’s situation. I am holding my breath until then.
I am grateful to have my kids home, healthy, safe and doing OK. My husband has been incredibly supportive as well so I know in the grand scheme of things I am in an OK place. But man, I’d like to jump ahead and at least know this will all be OK and I won’t feel like this forever. D26 should be hearing from her remaining 5 schools in the next few weeks which will be an exciting time. Even though she already knows where she is going, it is exciting to hear from all her schools and have everything feel “official”.
I am so grateful for this group as well. When I was all alone last week in a very far away country, I pulled out my laptop and scrolled and hearing all the good news and reading everyone’s posts was really grounding for me, so thank you all
We spent thanksgiving in NOLA the year D19 started college (she flew to meet us there). It was so fun. The lady that runs the voodoo museum photobombed us while we were taking pictures in the shop and it ended up being such a great photo We didn’t do a river cruise but we did lots of walking and seeing stuff and also had some great meals.
Podcasts - I don’t love “podcasters” but I listen on my commute, mainly true crime (dateline, 48 hrs etc). Every so often I get sick of the genre (it’s always the spouse!!) and try to listen to other stuff but mostly get irritated after an episode or two. Audiobooks - again, for my commute, I have discovered I can do audiobooks if they’re non-fiction (and have “read” some very interesting ones this way, including Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari and (a rec by D19] Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green. But I cannot stand audiobooks of fiction. I have one friend who loves them because she is always listening to something no matter what chores she’s doing, and DH likes them as he is dyslexic and it’s just easier. I just hate the “acting”.
Oh whoops, I just assumed Thanksgiving day since the other two releases are Christmas day and New Year’s Eve!
Ah well, we have tickets to The Outsiders at the Fox on Wednesday, and since D22 flies in late Tuesday night, she’ll sleep in until Wed afternoon, so we won’t start watching it that day.
I realize this is slightly off-topic, but if you’re in NYC, I HIGHLY recommend seeing Stranger Things on Broadway. The effects are stunning. I had never seen the show and was fine (it’s a prequel). I can’t imagine the show touring, and if it does, it likely will have to scale back. I went back to see it a second time and still can’t figure out how they pulled some things off. If you’re a fan of the show, you’ll love it.
I agree on all fronts - great interview, but don’t love the host. Also, the sound balancing is very uneven, so each time he speaks, it is so loud, but I had a hard time hearing the kid. It was very informative and he was very impressive.
And The Outsiders is outstanding. You’ll love it! My son who is not a theater kid (but who I always try to coax to come with me to Bway shows) loved it.
Hadestown is awesome! I hope she enjoyed it! Hope your son’s health issues get resolved quickly -and glad the first semester is going well! I think everyone has a few bumps as they adjust -but its wonderful to see them grow! And yes - it is nice to see them in person isn’t it?
I have my crew home –and we are traveling to see some family later this week. Still working on RD applications. It may not be much of a break.
And the show was so fun, even if Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer’s southern accents were actively terrible. 
We didn’t do a river cruise but we did lots of walking and seeing stuff and also had some great meals.