No, it’s not a bad Martin Lawrence movie. It’s my destination over the summer. Zippy the Monkey Boy and Speed Racer are going off to sleep-away camp this summer for two weeks. While they’re gone, I’m going to be taking a college road trip with Sarcasmo, who will be a junior in high school next year. I’m hoping this trip will jump start his interest in college and help him get a little more motivated.
Sample conversation with Sarcasmo:
Me: “So, what do you want to major in?”
Sarcasmo: “I dunno.”
Me: “Do you have any colleges you’d like to attend?”
Sarcasmo: “I dunno.”
Rinse and repeat.
A couple of weeks ago, though, we sat down and I forced him to look at a number of different colleges. We looked at private colleges, public colleges, small institutions and large institutions, and everything in between. Then we threw out ones we knew he didn’t want to attend (that is, basically, only small women’s only liberal arts institutions. [Not that he didn't want to attend a college where he was the only male, but they probably wouldn't let him in.]) and decided on seven institutions to visit.
The fun part was deciding which day we’d like to visit which college. We’re going to have a busy week and a half. We’ll be driving all through the states of North Carolina and South Carolina. Considering the state of the economy and what it’s doing to Sarcasmo’s college fund, I’m hoping he falls in love with an in-state school. But we did want to see a variety of institutions.
Well, as large a variety of schools as we could see when only visiting two states worth. We’ve already taken Sarcasmo and Zippy to tour the University of Florida (the world’s best university), but I don’t see either of them as being interested enough to want to go through the hoops they’ll need to in order to get admitted as out-of-state students. Still, it was good to give them something to shoot for. Not that any school can ever compare to UF, but it’s nice to know what’s out there.
This is, of course, just another thing to help me feel really, really old this summer. I’ve actually got a little dude who’s getting ready to attend college in a couple of years. Next year at this time, he’ll be filling out applications and hoping for thick envelopes in return. We’ll be sweating it out and thinking good thoughts. And, in the back of my mind, I’ll be aware that the clock still is ticking as Zippy gets ready to head off to college the year after Sarcasmo. Which means two college road trips in two years.
Wheeeeee!
– Richard
Tags: A Dude's Guide to Kids, camp, college, College Road, Colleges, driving, dude, eat, Economy, Good Thoughts, Hoops, Itenerary, Jump Start, Liberal Arts Institutions, little dude, love, Martin Lawrence, men, Monkey Boy, movie, North Carolina, Private Colleges, public, Public Colleges, richard, Road Trip, S College, sarcasm, Sarcasmo, school, sleep, South Carolina, Speed Racer, State Students, summer, trips, Two States, University Of Florida
What??? Sarcasmo NOT a Gator? I think this is possibly the first sign the world is coming to an end. I need a drink.
I know. It’s hard to believe, but, well, that’s the way it’s rolling.