Friday, Orientation Day 2

I forgot to mention that our (my) hotel offers a hot breakfast. That was nice. Fresh hot waffles… yum! So, I had a leisurely breakfast on my own. Took my time getting ready since the first event this day was a campus tour; we’d done that a few months prior when we were visiting for Engineering Open House. Checked email; checked out of the room and I was over to the campus and Talley with minutes to spare.

This day was full of seminars in the same room, with no space in between them. We were free to come and go as we pleased, but I was reluctant to take a break as I was afraid I’d miss something important. My last seminar was titled “Letting Go and Letting Grow.” Most of the parents in this seminar were first-timers. Only a handful had sent kids off to college before. The seminar was emotional as we discussed our concerns with the other parents. But I was also watching my cell phone… the moment it was to ring, I would be able to go and see my boy! It was nearly 2:00 before that happened.

I met up with Ian and we walked to his dorm. He flashed his student ID! He is so proud of that thing! You should see him grin when he looks at it. He’s been waiting so long to be a student at NCSU; since he was about 7 years old and his big brother headed off to college there. He checked out of his dorm and we headed off to the book store. We found most of his books but his schedule wasn’t finalized. So we spent about $300; lucky for us, it was tax-free weekend!

Over the course of the summer, NCSU holds 9 different Orientation sessions. College of Engineering is at the end of the summer; then alphabetically, Ian’s Orientation session was the very last one of the summer. Because of this, he had a heck of a time finding open classes to enroll in. When we left NCSU on Friday, he was agitated and frustrated that he couldn’t get his schedule just right. I assured him that scheduling for his spring semester would be much better and he just needed to do the best he could with this semester.

The drive home was uneventful. And I was thankful for that. Doug made it home from Greenville before us.

Things I need to make sure Ian knows before he heads off to college in two weeks (not necessarily in this order):
o Do NOT be afraid, too shy, or too proud to find and ask for help if you need it.
o The health center also has a counseling office, if you think you might benefit from it. It’s included in your fees; don’t let “cost” deter you from using it.
o Credit Cards = Evil… at least until you have a positive cash flow and can pay your bills regularly and on time.
o Plan. Plan your classes. Plan your study time. Plan your meals. Plan your study time. Plan your work-out time. Plan your study time. Plan your play-time. Plan your study time. Plan. We bought a planner… use it!
o Review #4 above… STICK TO IT!
o Call home if you need anything. Also call home when you don’t need anything.
o Be friendly. People want to be friends with people who are friendly. Smile when you meet someone. Acknowledge that you may have already met someone; smile when you recognize someone. When someone you’ve already met calls you or approaches you, do act somewhat animated, like you’re happy to spend a few moments with them… do not act like it’s a waste of your time to speak with them. Make friends with a few upperclassmen… they could end up to be great mentors.
o Not everything is going to go the way you expected. But you are where you need to be. You’re starting the next chapter in your life. If you didn’t have challenges, you wouldn’t learn. If you didn’t have conflict, you wouldn’t figure out how to fend for yourself. If you didn’t have pain, you wouldn’t know satisfaction and happiness.
o Find and join a club. Take time out to exercise. Closely watch your diet, especially on days that you do not exercise.
o Mom and Dad love you. We’re proud of you. It’s time to make your own decisions. Try to remember to make good ones. We’ll always support you.