College Road Trip

I can't believe how fast 16 1/2 years can just fly by! I find myself fast forwarded from being a young mother of one cute, sweet little boy, to a mother of a young man ready to make some major decisions about his future and where he wants to go to college. I find the whole thing exciting, but scary at the same time. That isn't even enough of a description, I am overwhelmed with so many different feelings going through me and then fleeting that I can't even name them all.

I don't remember having to do all the work that is now required to go to college back when I was going to college. I knew what I wanted to be from the age of 5, knew which college in my home state of Indiana that had a vet school, applied to that one school without ever making a trip to visit the campus, took my SAT without any type of prep classes and that was that. I went there for my 8 years and graduated being what I always wanted to be. Now, everyone goes and visits colleges because the choices are so vast, you have to take prep courses for the SAT's so you can go to the college you want and/or you have to be in the top 10% of your class to go to some of the more popular state schools. We aren't even talking the Ivy League here! We have to figure out how to jump through financial aid hoops. He has to write essays to apply. He is signed up to take an SAT prep course, he has a book on how to take the SAT. He is taking it in the spring so that if he needs to get a better score, he can take it again in the summer and still be able to meet the college application deadlines. I feel overwhelmed just trying to keep up with all the information and I am an adult professional, I can't imagine a young kid trying to do all of this on their own.

So, we will be making our first road trip to check out Texas State in San Marcos in a couple weekends from now. That will be the first of six college road trips that we will make that I know of for sure. I kind of find it frustrating that L1 isn't sure what he would like to do with his life, other than be an actor. He knows that is such a long-shot, that he is going to major in something else (his choice not mine), but he doesn't know what that something else is. I just tell him that I think the most important thing is that he has a passion for what career he chooses. I don't want him to choose something just because it guarantees a certain salary or lifestyle. I have seen that doesn't make people happy, but being passionate about what you do does. I absolutely love what I do and I want him to have that same fervor about what he will do. I also don't want him to make rash decisions based on the popularity of a particular school or where his friends may go. And truth be told, it is hard for me, very hard, not to make the choices for him. But he isn't a baby anymore and I am not choosing what I should make him for breakfast. I can only guide him and try to give him as much information and support as I can and pray that he will make the right decision for himself. Man oh man, it is hard to let go. I hope it gets a bit easier with the other two.