Decisions and Honors

Recently my daughter was inducted as a Kansas Honor Scholar by the KU Alumni Association. She is Co-Valedictorian of her senior class and along with several other students in the county, was honored at a banquet.

She sat quietly at the table, taking in the conversation and yet, feeling apart from it as talk turned to college. She is uncertain at this point of where she'd like to go and what she wants to do.

I try to reassure her that many kids her age are unsure of their future goals and the direction they want to take with their lives (as well as some of us 'older' folks!). The fact that 60% of college freshmen are undeclared and students change majors more than five times during their college career does little to comfort her.

Yesterday we went on our first college visit where we toured the campus of a community college about an hour from home. I watched as she strolled along the sidewalks, taking in the sights and observing the
differences between that world and her own. She was charmed by the young man sitting outside in the sunshine playing his guitar and the auditorium filled with sets for an upcoming play. I saw a light in her face as she observed the diversity of a college setting and in her smile as she talked with her guide (Of course, it helped that he was a very handsome college freshman)!

As hard as it will be for me to let her go next fall, I'm excited for the possibilities that lay ahead for her. And even though she's unsure of what she wants to be when she grows up, she will soon learn that it is in the journey of becoming an adult where she will grow and change and not so much in what she actually chooses to do.

I am so proud of her accomplishments thus far and of the direction she's moving. But the greatest honor lies in simply being her mother. and in walking this amazing path that she is so willing to share.