This past Wednesday, I went on my one millionth college visit...this time with Kacie. Well, technically, that's an exaggeration. But over the past two years, I have been to tons of college campuses for various reasons...most of them related to volleyball in some form or fashion.
Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy visiting schools with Katie and Kacie, and two years ago, visiting NC State for the first time with Kyle. But really, there is only so much visiting you can do before you realize all the colleges tell you the same thing...just at a different campus, with different weather, and a different admissions counselor and tour guide. Most of the time, the twins have had a volleyball tryout, which usually lasts about two hours. I sit and watch while the twins show those coaches their "stuff." It's fun, but it has been an exhausting year.
Katie settled on Gardner-Webb late last summer. The coach offered her spot on his volleyball team. I was very pleased with the program he is running there, and I like the fact that he is a Christian and encourages his girls to pursue bible study. They are involved in community service activities, and he makes sure their grades are good. He doesn't babysit the girls, but he has high expectations of them. The school's campus is beautiful, but not too big. The town is small (really, the University is the town), and it has this wonderful charm. Katie loved it instantly. Katie is still pretty undecided about what she wants to do for a career, but she is leaning towards nursing, and GW has a great program for that.
Kacie has taken a little longer to make a decision. Initially, it was Brevard, but we decided to look at other schools to see if we could get some money for volleyball. We visited Lenoir-Rhyne, which Kacie liked, and the coach offered her a spot, but she decided not to go there. We didn't feel like Kacie would get much playing time, so that was kind-of a deciding factor. We set up a visit at Montreat, but then they started having financial problems, so we nixed it. So she settled on Brevard again. Then, the coach sends Kacie an e-mail, saying her roster is full. Kacie felt like the rug had been jerked out from under her. Luckily, the coach was nice enough to forward Kacie's information on to Catawba Valley Community College's volleyball coach. The coach contacted Kacie, and we set up the visit for April 4th. Kacie loved the campus. It's a unique community college, in that they have varsity sports teams and dorms available for students. I have a feeling in the next few years, they will become a four year college. We met the volleyball coach and her assistant, and they were both so great! Very funny and welcoming. Kacie had her tryout and it went very well. We should know in a couple of weeks whether or not she will be playing volleyball there. But Kacie has decided, volleyball or not, that she wants to go to CVCC, which I am thrilled with!
So both my baby sisters have made their decisions about college. I am so proud of them for taking their time and making good decisions for themselves. They have grown into beautiful, smart, funny young women. You just can't help but love them. I can't believe they are getting ready to go off to college and become adults. Even though they are only my sisters, it is so hard to let them go, and to trust that they will be okay, and make the right decisions. I know they will...it's just so hard to think of them as being on their own. Tommy, Kyle, and I have always been fiercely protective of our baby sisters, and I know at times it really gets on their nerves. But I guess that's just part of being the babies of the family.
My suggestion to you, if you are a parent, is to start visiting college campuses WAY before senior year....like when your kids are a freshman in high school. And actually, if your kids go to MEC, we go visit colleges twice a year (we've been to Chapel Hill, Duke, UNC-C, NC State, Wake Forest, High Point, UNC-A, WCU, Clemson, UGA, Johnson and Wales, and many more). It gets kids the exposure they need, and gets them thinking about colleges way before they get ready to go. And also, encourage independence in your high schooler. Make sure they can do their own laundry, cook a decent meal, grocery shop effectively, change a tire, check the oil in their car, put water in their car, use a debit card. Teach them to drive a stick shift (you never know what kind of situation they may end up in at college). Have them get a job (if possible). Teach them to manage money, on a budget.
I guess all of that seems sort-of...well, DUH! But it's so easy to do all this stuff for your kid, instead of "making" them do it. Trust me, I know. My sisters still have a little ways to go to get ready for college, but they are almost there.
Most importantly, love them while their still at home. Teenagers are a pain the butt...I know. And there will be days you want to beat them senseless (although I suggest refraining from doing that). They will push you to the limit of your sanity. But once they go to school, you will miss all that. And they will be so busy, with studying and socializing, and doing the college "thing," you probably won't get to talk to them as much as you want. You will miss them. I miss Kyle a lot, although I make it a point to call or e-mail once a week. And I know I will miss Katie and Kacie. I try to tell myself that every time they try to argue to extend their curfew 30 more minutes, or leave their dirty clothes in the bathroom after I've told them 1000 times not to. Because this Fall, when they're gone, and my house is clean all the time, and laundry is always caught up, I will miss the mess, and the chaos, of my teenage sisters.
No comments:
Post a Comment