Quick...get away from the door! Pretend we're not home! Sometimes, this is what I want to say to life changing moments as they come knocking (or ringing) at my door. Other times, I welcome them as a natural progression of life.
This is a photo of Cameron when he "graduated" from preschool in 1999. Little did I realize how quickly 10 years would pass and I would be facing Alex's graduation from high school.
Since last year, like many of our friends, we have been in the throngs of preparing for senior year and life thereafter. It began with taking the ACT three times during his junior year. In June, we had senior pictures taken early so he could get on with growing his Wildcat mohawk for football season. In July and August, we began touring colleges and will cap off this week with two more visits. We have referenced countless books on how to survive getting into college, how to survive being in college, how to choose a major, 100 top job outlooks, how to improve your ACT scores, four-year colleges at a glance, and on and on. What we didn't read, however, was "how to survive the tour itself."
I'm not sure which is the lesser of two evils--strolling around the campus of Michigan State in extreme humidity or briskly walking around the University of Dayton campus amid snowflakes and temperatures in the teens. Hmmm.....I'll have to get back to you on that one.
In the heat of the summer, we visited Central Michigan, Aquinas, the University of Michigan, and Michigan State University, all within the span of three weeks. Three very hot and humid weeks. Our first campus visit was to Central and it was exciting. We brought Cameron along and spent the day listening to program directors, professors, administrators, and financial aid people.
When the visit started and we were sitting in the classroom Q & A sessions with professors and students, I was geeked. I was seeing all the opportunity and marveled at the new teaching and learning technologies that were now available. I was ready to become Alex's study buddy. "I want to go to college!" I exclaimed eagerly. How exciting. Your whole future ahead of you.
Then the came tour and everything changed. The itinerary literature we received in the mail confirming our visit failed to mention that perky "Janelle" would be our first-time tour guide and that I shouldn't wear flip flops because it would turn into a two-hour plus walk (my back and hips took months to recover from the lack of arch support.)
It also failed to mentioned that you might want to bring your anxiety medication in case you suffer a panic attack in the extremely tiny, claustrophobic, humidity-filled, non air conditioned, practically windowless dorm room which you would be crowding into. After we visited the dorm room, I realized I could never go back to college on campus. All I could think about was how horrible the view was from that room, how scarce the natural light was, and how unpillow-topped the skinny bunk bed mattress was. Closet space and drawer space...let's not even go there. I think my tastes and comfort levels have evolved since I was a teenager.
As we drove home from that first tour, however, we couldn't help but be excited about the changes and opportunities that were yet to come for Alex. Alex and I agreed that after being in the environment for six plus hours, we started to feel like he was already in college and sort of forgot that he had an entire senior year of high school to complete. It was exhilarating.
By the fourth campus visit, which was to Michigan State--which was ENORMOUS--we were suffering from heat exhaustion and brain overload. It was so hot and humid on the day Alex and I visited that we had to cut out early. When we arrived, we had a tough time getting our bearings and trying to find the building the orientation was to be held in. We had our maps in tow, but signage pointing us to where we needed to go was scarce, and when we looked up to find some sort of landmark, all we could see were tree tops. Finally, after taking wrong turns, and then huffing and puffing it up the stairs in humid temperatures equivalent to the rain forest, we made it to the correct room. I was a dripping wet, sweaty mess. After a 45-minute presentation, when my body temperature had finally stabilized, we had to go back outside and walk around with our designated tour guide. Uggghhh. I hate college.
Having had a six month break, we have had time to recharge our batteries and are making a couple of last visits. Yesterday we drove to the University of Dayton. We only had to get up at 4:00 a.m. to leave by 5:00 a.m. to get there by 8:30 a.m. No problem. This time Cameron did not join us. His preference was to stay home and study for exams with his buddies. Can you blame him? We were fortunate that the drive down and back were uneventful and we had decent weather. Temperatures were only in the teens as opposed to the single digits and it only snowed a little. All in all, though, it was a great visit.
On Friday we travel to Kalamazoo College. After that, the next few weeks will mean decision time for Alex. Lots of stuff to think about, lots of pros and cons to list. Like, community bathroom (which means I don't have clean it) or private bathroom. The campus near the fabulous burger joint, or the one near Skyline Chili. The one with the teeny-tiny dorm room or the one with the tiny-teeny dorm room. So much to think about.
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