Edgewood Jr/Sr College and Career Readiness

Who can relate? 🙋🏻‍♀️🙋🏻‍♀️

Dear @liampren18 , ……. Love, Mom 🥰😂

It’s definitely a thing…😕

So the soiling of the nest is a real thing. Whereby your newly minted graduate takes a scorched earth approach at home, thereby making it easier for them to leave and assert some independence.

Does this sound familiar?

It’s indeed a weird summer for them — an even weirder one for us parents.

I simultaneously want to hold them tighter but occasionally crave dropping them off in a field and driving away.

And I knew this was coming to some extent with child number two.

But I’m like an old football knee injury. I can sense the storm is coming long before it hits, but I still can’t do anything to stop it.

The storm has arrived. And there are some universal truths regarding kids about to leave the nest in our house.

When teens soil the nest before they leave for college

1. They already know everything

I can’t tell you how relaxing it is to live with someone (or two or three) who already knows EVERYTHING about the universe.

And yet is suffering from some acute amnesia and is unable to remember how to address an envelope, set the alarm, call to make an appointment, replace a roll of toilet paper or pick up a wet towel.

2. They are critical

The way we do things around here apparently sucks. I thought we were doing a decent job.

Roof over our heads. Refrigerator full of food. It’s like a hotel over here.

Not a luxury hotel. No pool. But a solid extended-stay hotel with a Keurig. The things you need are here.

However, these teenagers assure me that when they leave they will live better, faster, bigger, cleaner, and more organized. To achieve these goals I highly recommend they don’t have children of their own.

3. They are emotional tornadoes

One foot in their old life and one foot in their new one.

I thought we were done with the reminders when the high school grad cap flew in the air. But I’ve replaced it with the college reminders.

It’s chaos as they navigate this stage of being in between. So I try some reminders.

They have a lot of on their plates working, seeing friends and family, saying goodbyes, preparing for fall. My reminders? Futile. All met with, “I already know.” *Please see #1

4. They have romanticized getting out into the world

Everything will be perfect in college.

The grass is already greener even though they haven’t yet seen the grass. Yikes. I don’t want to crush their dream but I do want to temper their enthusiasm with reality from time to time.

They are about to move in with a stranger. Learn a new system. Take classes in subjects they never imagined. Navigate a new city. Make mistakes, plenty of them.

I guess my husband and I have made adulthood look SO FUN, they cannot wait.

For those of you who are living Instagrammable summers with cheerful, helpful children who take long walks with you holding your hand, please scroll on by. You won’t understand this content, and it may make you fearful or, worse yet, smug. This is for the rest of us.

5. I know it gets better

It gets better. I know it does because I have a 21-year-old daughter who has a psychology internship this summer working with children. The other day she came home and lamented that,

“The kids complain even though we plan all these special things for them and take them amazing places. They spend so much energy just complaining about everything. You can’t imagine how annoying it is.”

Oh.but.I.can.sweet.girl.I.really.can.

She is on her way to getting it.

by Jen LarsenFortner

Stuff to think about…

More big sister advice I wish I had in high school 🫶🏻 you guys seemed to like the last one so I wanted to do a part 2!! #teacherlife #teachersofinstagram #teacher #teachergram

Juniors! It’s about to be your turn! How are you preparing for the college application process?

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When students say they want to be an engineer…

Which field did you pick? It's #collegedecision season and #graduation is around the corner. Share this with someone who's considering #engineering but doesn't know the differences between the fields. Did I get them right or wrong? Tell me in the comments. As always, follow for #engineeringinfodaily

Did you know you can ask for more financial aid money?

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Interesting perspective. I will always support student happiness, mental health and what they feel is a good fit over “name-brand” universities for the sake of the name.

Values Over Rankings: There's Life Beyond the Top 25 Lists - Link for Counselors “Because it’s a good school.” We hear this response almost daily in our offices when we ask students why they’ve chosen to apply to specific colleges. The silence that follows our next question – “What makes it good?” – speaks volumes about the crisis we face in college admissions to...

Parents who complete their kids’ college applications aren’t helping… #college #parenting #application #classof2025