SHARE
(Brag Alert – There is all sorts of bragging that goes on in this post. I’m really writing it because i need to make sure this momentous event is included in my annual blog book!)
This time last year Jill was stressed out. (I know, not a big surprise if you know her at all!) Any time we talked about college she would start to tear up. I finally asked what all the water works were all about and she said ‘I just can’t picture myself being anywhere but here!’ Oh man, that was supposed to be MY line!
Jill took her standardized tests almost a year before most kids her age. Her scores were good and her grades were even better so she was all ready to go, but she still had no idea WHERE she wanted to go. Last February, over mid winter break, we decided to head up north to Bellingham to check out Western Washington University. The tour was awesome. We loved hearing about all of the education and recreational opportunities. Loved seeing the class rooms, art and dorm rooms. As the tour progressed I could see the stress melting out of Jill’s demeanor. It was obvious she had found her place. THIS was the place she could picture herself going. When the tour guide started talking about their Quidditch team I knew the deal was sealed. This girl isn’t into sports but she sure is in to Harry Potter!
We went on a campus tour at a small Seattle school the next day but neither one of us were feeling that one and we would have left part way through the tour if we could have. After that Jill cancelled our trips to Spokane and Oregon for other school tours. She was happy. She had found her people and found her place.
Western was the only school she applied to. Eggs. Basket. All in. With her grades and scores it was mostly a formality but we eagerly awaited that big envelope.
Oh, have I mentioned that her boyfriend Colin and his mom also joined us on the campus tour? Western was not a school he’d ever considered but he came along for fun. Turns out he was as impressed as Jill so he applied to Western too.
Last week, while the kids were still at school, Colin’s mom called me. ‘Have you checked the mail? The envelopes are here!’ Ack, our mail had not come yet! But I loved having the heads up. I had my camera and the mail key all ready for Jill to get home. When she arrived we innocently asked ‘How was your day?’ before we were going to send her out to get the mail. Her answer? ‘It was fine, but it was made better by the fact that I got in to Western!’
Wait, what?!? How did she know? Apparently Western sent an email out to it’s applicants earlier in the day. Boo! How anticlimactic is that?
Oh well, the big envelope was still important. Inside Jill found a lovely certificate indicating that she had been admitted with Distinction. She is in the to 20% of applicants and will be considered for merit scholarships. That was a nice little high five moment for Allen and I!
It felt like it took forever for the acceptance to arrive. (She applied on September 2nd.) I think that was just God’s way of getting her more and more excited for her next adventure. The anticipation replaced much of the trepidation she had been feeling so she is all in for school.
I guess our purple and gold will have to make room for blue and white. Go Vikings!