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[urbanrebel]

Up late unwinding by watching The Notebook on TV and when it got to the part where she was going away to school, it reminded me of when I went away.  I packed up the car, waved goodbye to my parents as I pulled way and hit the road 400 miles to LA, pulled up to the dorm and saw everyone with their parents moving in.

It never crossed my mind that my

Comments

[thespos]

My parents weren't involved in the application process, but there was involvement when I visited my eventual school for a scholarship interview. We had to fly there, and my mother had a panic attack once she got on the plane, so they disembarked, and after a few minutes, my stepfather came back -- but I was in a panic myself in the meantime. LOL

[urbanrebel]

I also flew to LA to look at the school and also to go to orientation the summer before I started, but I did these things alone too. It just never occurred to me that my parents should go. And in fairness to my parents, I was a pretty independent kid.

My closes friends in high school were all athletes - I guess you would say we were the jock crowd. My best friend was top 10 in the nation in swimming and got a full ride to UCLA, I was varsity and had a school record in track by the time I was a sophomore, and another close friend got a full ride in basketball. (We had a terrible football team and the football players were not popular kids at my high school. In fact, they were kind of made fun of.) And ALL my friends went away to school. If they hadn't, I'm not sure I'd have thought I needed to, but I didn't want to get left behind. It was totally my idea and my doing, but totally due to being influenced by the crowd I hung with

[adrianaendless]

Loved that movie. Didn't go away to college but when you are committed to horses, that going away to college thing is different anyway :)

[urbanrebel]

What a great movie! I'd never seen it before. And I know going away to college isn't for everyone and everyone has their own interests, but when you just feel something was so instrumental in shaping your life in such a positive way and was the best learning experience of your life (and I don't mean book learning), you can't help but want that for your kids. Doesn't mean it's right for them, but you want it to be. :-)

[adrianaendless]

Absolutely! :)

[kishenehn]

Good to see you posting again. :)

Though my Mom took me on a campus visit when I was choosing colleges, when I actually started college I moved down there myself ... my parents would have gone with me, but I wanted to do it on my own.

It's hard to remember, but I think only a few kids had their parents there, and they were sort of looked down on because of that ...

[urbanrebel]

"It's hard to remember, but I think only a few kids had their parents there, and they were sort of looked down on because of that ..." Interesting!I think there are probably a lot of difference like that in how things are looked at in various places. In Northern CA when I was going to college, frats were pretty much looked down upon as institutions you joined when you were too much of a loser to find your own friends without having to pay for it. ;-) I exaggerate, but there was some element of that kind of perspective on frats

[silverthief2]

My parents were initially against my going far away for college, probably because none of my brothers/cousins had done it as much as for any other reason. But even though they touted the benefits of in-state colleges, I was determined to go elsewhere, because I wanted to see the big wide world outside of northern New Mexico. When the time came they drove me all the way to North Carolina to move. Most parents did the same, although some international students that flew from Europe or Asia came on their own.

[urbanrebel]

"My parents were initially against my going far away for college, probably because none of my brothers/cousins had done it as much as for any other reason."I think this was true of my dad too. He was one of 10 and the first go to college in his family. Although 4th oldest, all the others followed after him, so he was the trailblazer there and you'd think maybe he'd understand I was being a trailblazer in going away, but he didn't understand it when we had so many colleges nearby

[silverthief2]

Yeah, I guess that wasn't an issue for me because frankly the universities in New Mexico are not high quality and just weren't the experience I was seeking anyway. Somehow we both survived!

[xxhistrionicxx]

I thought you would appreciate this and find it amusing all at the same time....

I have an interview on Thursday to poosibly become a new resident of the Balboa Bay Club! lol.

Did you ever think that little gothic James would ever be a member, much less LIVE at the Balboa Bay Club?!

[urbanrebel]

OK, you're scaring me! LOL

My old stomping grounds. We had a corporate membership there back in my Newport days and my office was right down the street on PCH in the office building next to Villa Nova. I probably had lunch or dinner there once a week or so and got my hair cut by a girl in the salon there for a couple of years when I lived on the peninsula.

Why would you want to live at the club though? The hotel facilities are great, but I thought the residents were mostly old folks?

[xxhistrionicxx]

lol. No...its not all old people at all. I actually know three people who live there and they are all under 40

[urbanrebel]

Ah, that's interesting. Back in the day, seemed like most of the people who lived there were older people who sold their houses on Lido and Linda. I spent New Years there one year with Mike when I was in college and his mother had a FIT when she found out because (according to her) that's where all high priced OC hookers hang out on New Years looking for rich guys and she thought we were going to get corrupted. LOL