^^
Lot’s of high school kids have ID’s that say they are 21. I actually believe the story – am just not sure if he has actually made the trip or is still thinking about it.
@eastcoascrazy The hotel DID check for id. He showed him a driver’s license. As long as the ID matches the name on the credit card, debit card or the prepaid card with a high multiple of the room rate, many hotels will have no problem with checking them in, especially if they made a reservation in advance, are traveling alone and don’t look like they will trash the room.
My kid used to travel for an EC. A couple of times in high school, kid traveled to competitions without any adult and had no trouble checking in. Didn’t even have a driver’s license; used a passport. Said kid looked very young, BTW. In our case, we explained when making the reservation that kid was a minor traveling alone and asked if that would be a problem. We only did this a couple of times, but never had a hotel that refused.
And if he told his parents the name of the city he was visiting, tracking his cell phone wouldn’t have raised any red flags.
Look, I don’t know if the story is true but it’s not as hard for a 17 year old to travel alone as you seem to think it is. A few kids I know did this to look at colleges.
Frankly, the part I have trouble believing is that a 17 year old was able to rent a car at the airport. THAT’S s lot harder than renting a hotel or motel room.
Yes agree on the renting of the car – they do not even let me put my 18 year old son on the rental agreement as an additional driver. There is no getting around that rule of 25 at most car rental agencies. Some let you pay an additional fee if you are 23 or 24.
But the OP never claimed he rented a car. He said they took public transport.
@HarvestMoon1 Thanks, I read too quickly. First post said
Now, I realize he meant he drove his own car to the airport, not that he rented a car from the other end.
Is this story possible? Sure.
Is it probable? Nope.
Do I believe that it actually happened? Nope
And the more the OP tries to explain it the less I believe it. He is spending way too much time expanding and explaining and attempting to convince us that it really happened.
At any rate, he is spending time trying to prove to us that he is telling the truth about this little jaunt. I don’t believe it, and if he were my son and told me this tale I wouldn’t believe it either. I woukd want to see reciepts.
My thought pricess would be this: " Why, if this is what really happened, would you tell me? You pulled it off, so why are you REALLY telling me about it? What is the real story here? What did you really do, that you are worried about me finding out about? What did you really do, that this fairly innocent story is designed to hide?"
OP, I wouldn’t trust you. I wouldn’t trust this story as the actual truth, and I wouldn’t trust you again for quite some time, regardless of how I found out about it.
I certainly don’t know everywhere my three went or what they did once they were 18 and in college. But you are 17 and still in high school.
I would also be concerned if there was any intimacy–wouldn’t want any unplanned pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases or later claims of rape or assault from either party. All in all, this is something I am relieved was not written by either of my kids.
I do know that D has some online friends. Some even know her correct gender, tho I’m not sure they know her correct age as she was a male college student for many years in many forums.
Some of her virtual friends are having a Las Vegas meet up but she’s declined, as she’s busy with her other friends and family.
I’m not sure I’m understanding where all of the skepticism is coming from. @Eastcoastcrazy, your posts, in particular take an unnecessarily hostile tone. After having taught high school students for almost 25 years, I find it entirely believable that a kid would take a risk like this - kids lie about all kinds of things, large and small. And a kid whose parents are particularly strict might well decide that it’s “better to ask forgiveness than permission.” OP, I believe you, and hope you won’t ever do something so dangerous again. You might have been walking into a very dangerous situation - how terrible it would have been if something had happened to you with no way for your parents to be of help to you.
I have stressed to my own kids the importance of never, ever placing yourself in a situation where NO ONE knows where you are and what you are up to, i.e., whatever they might tell me, they must ALWAYS their siblings the real story.
@eastcoastcrazy – what I think is even more unlikely is that a student would make a story like this up and post it online. The story is far too tame to be a prank – if he was going to make something up he would have added some more salacious details!
I’m not sure either why everyone finds this story so hard to believe. Sounds very plausible to me. Lots of kids lie to their parents about where they are going, what they are doing, whose house they are sleeping out, whether or not there is alcohol and drugs, etc etc. Getting a hotel room underage is really not that hard. I’ve talked to parents who have had their kids try to get a room on their own and have been unsuccessful and some who have tried and have actually been successful at Age 17. Not every behind the counter hotel agent gives a crap.
that said, Post #1 answered your question best. What you did was dangerous and you should not have had to lie to your parents about it. Even when you are a responsible adult, you need to be careful.
At age 22, my brother “disappeared” one night (with a girl) for several hours while we were in a foreign country. In the particular city we were in, it was known that girls sometimes lure guys into dangerous situations. We were freaking out. Luckily, he was just having fun, but he should’ve told us where he was at all times. He heard an earful when he came in around 2am laughing while we were on the verge of calling the authorities.
I could relay stories about where kids were able to escape to from my D’s boarding school days. I have far too much love for the school to do that, but trust me, when they set their minds to it there is little that will get in their way.
I think the majority of CC parents are very responsible and keep close tabs on their children’s activities, but I can assure you that is not something that all parents do. In fact I think we are in the minority.
I agree that the biggest problem isn’t the guilt of lying to the parents, it is doing something that belies common sense and self defense. Even if the OP ‘knew’ this other person for 2 years, they have no way of knowing who that person is or what they are like. Have they even skyped so they could see the other person? Having a cell phone and texting doesn’t mean anythng, since that other phone could be a burner, and then having a first meeting in another city where no one knows where you went (and I would bet if this is a true story, that the OP didn’t even tell a friend or two what was going on, in case it got dicey) is a recipe for disaster. I am not a worry wort by nature, but this is the internet age where ‘created’ people is so darn easy.
If this is real, then I hope the OP is reading this and realizing the guilt factor with his parents isn’t the biggest issue. If the kid is going to do this, then let’s hope he uses some common sense, like has a friend that he trusts who knows what he is doing and they have an arranged schedule to communicate (and the kid isn’t dumb enough to tell the other person “Oh, I have to contact my friend every 2 hours”), and if that friend doesn’t hear from the OP, lets the parents know the details immediately so they can act. Likewise, if you guys are going to hang out, don’t tell them where you are staying and don’t invite them back until you have some idea they are legit, and when you meet them I would leave things like your credit card and most of your cash back in the hotel. Not encouraging them to do this, but I would rather he do something stupid and stay alive then potentially meet up with some creep or lowlife and pay for it in other ways.
Sorry if I’m coming across as hostile. The OP asked what our reactions would be if we were his parents. I’m being honest. I wouldn’t trust that the original lie was the truth. The multitude of ways that this could have had (and could still have) a really bad outcome are amazing.
A seventeen year old boy who sneaks off to a city (far enough away at he needs to fly) to meet up with (hook up with) a complete stranger is someone taking enormous chances, and he is apparently too immature to even understand the dangers.
We are not an overly strict or overly protective family here. My kids have all traveled alone. We didn’t keep close tabs on them once they were in college. But we did catch a couple of them them in some pretty big lies when they were still in high school, and at did color our trust for a long time.
OP, what do you want to do? Live with the lie or tell your parents?
If you tell your parents, expect them to be more than mad. You said they don’t allow you to have friends over, so how do you think they are going to react to something this big? Do you have plans to go to college, and do those plans include them paying for college? You may have blown that.
How would I have reacted if I learned of this elaborate plan after it took place? I’d be mad, and the punishment would be financial. I’d figure that since my daughter (I only have daughters) could do this all on her own, she had plenty of money to spend on herself and didn’t need my money. A simple ‘sorry’ wouldn’t fix it.
The OP 100% admits to being a liar, some people totally believe this story because, you know, teens do lie to parents, but for some reason they don’t believe a teen would lie about THIS.
This story just does not ring true. The OP’s parents are “really strict,” so strict that they don’t even let him have friends over, yet they allowed an expensive cross country trip to see an old friend and didn’t verify even one thing about it. Nope, don’t buy it. And I say that with no animosity whatsoever.
Well, assuming that you actually did this and got away with it, I don’t think you should tell them about it until after you have completed at least one year of college. Or maybe more.
I’m afraid that their reaction would be to decide that you are not trustworthy enough to send away to college.
It sounds like a test run of a plan. Lie about where your are and what you are doing, end up in the main attraction in some guy’s underground bunker for a few years. Your parents must be horrid people if you would take the chance of destroying them with heartbreak. Go stare at the wall of missing children and teens in Walmart. Some date back decades and the family is not over it.
Internet use had made teens more gullible than ever. Is there no Skype and telephone? Are you sure her dad won’t bury you in the back 40 acres for having the nerve to show up to meet her, if she is real and whatever age she claimed to be.
Don’t lie, don’t sneak. Karma is …
OP. I’d really wish you’d FaceTime or Skype this gal. I’d be upset if my son did this. IF he did wish to visit a gal from a summer program, etc., I’d want to chat with the parents.
When my son was 12? 13? He was emailing a girl he met on some gaming site. I knew nothing about this online relationship. I came home from work, and could hear a grown man yelling at son on the phone, and my son responding with words e.g. “But I am a kid”. I took the phone from my son, and asked the man to tell me what was going on. He truly was scared for his daughter’s safety. He did calm down.
The point of my story is that I trusted my son so much that I knew he wouldn’t be having an inappropriate conversation. I had his back. Trust and respect are the foundations of good relationships. You would lose your parents’ trust if you flew to another city without telling them. Wait until you are older. I’m also not impressed that this gal would support such a visit.
I may have missed this…but is this gal also 17?
Re: using a debit card…I have NOT been able to use one for hotel transactions. Had to be a credit card.
Four digits in your bank account? $1000? Sorry, not impressed.
What did the girl tell HER parents? Or is she a bit older and didn’t need to do so?
OP - You asked how we think your parents will react. When (not if but when) they find out they will be furious and you will have lost their trust due to your actions. Please don’t mistake their reaction as the issue, it is your actions that brought this on. I still like others find issues with the whole story.
Hope your parents don’t have a CC account! They might recognize this story.