How My Daugher Left Home
http://www.familymaker.net/articles/2995/1/How-My-Daugher-Left-Home/Page1.html
Shawn Wilson
This article was written by Shawn Wilson, who is part of the customer support team at Datepad, an Internet Dating website. By Shawn Wilson
Published on 10/28/2008
This child didn't just leave home, she left the country.
When we have children we do so knowing that one day in the very distant future they will leave home. We love them, nurture them, feed, clothe and educate them and above all, we love them.
We do it all in the hopes that they will become happy and healthy adults. We do it to give them the knowledge and the tools to make their own way in the world.
When my daughter was in high school, she explored different academic opportunities. She studied biology and chemistry, creative writing, and political science. Quite a variety for one so young. She loved them all. When it came time to decide on a course of study for post secondary education, she chose pure science with an eye on attending medical school.
Being as she is a child with an adventurous spirit, and a touch of wanderlust, she choose to attend a university halfway across the country. Her father and I missed her very much, but we both knew that this is what she wanted to do. Moreover, this was how we had raised her; to be independent and to find her own way in the world.
When she was three quarters of the way through her first year of university, my daughter the rock, the one with common sense (as opposed to her brother), the one who had always made rational decisions, had a major meltdown.
The end result of hours of telephone talks and online chats was this; she really didn't want to be a doctor after all. This didn't surprise me because I had never thought this was to be her life's work anyway. Her relief at our reaction was palpable, and to our delight, she has chosen Political Science, with a minor in Spanish.
Courses were re-arranged, schedules were re-worked, and off she went to second year. Halfway through the year, she was accepted for an overseas volunteer project that was to commence at the conclusion of second year of studies.
Smart cookie that she is, her volunteer experience complements her studies. She's living with a host family in South America, where only Spanish is spoken, so her language skills are improving by leaps and bounds. The circumstances in which she finds herself are far different from those at home and at school.
By all accounts, the family she is living with is poor, and she is challenged by the diet. Suffice to say that she is a vegetarian no longer. Even the basics like having a shower are an experience. Apparently there's nothing quite like having a shower with a chicken on the roof!
Though she has found it taxing, she has maintained her sense of humor and direction. Her work in a local school is, by all accounts, much appreciated. Her placement at a local orphanage is more difficult, though no less rewarding.
I think that all in all, I quite like the adult my daughter has become.
We do it all in the hopes that they will become happy and healthy adults. We do it to give them the knowledge and the tools to make their own way in the world.
When my daughter was in high school, she explored different academic opportunities. She studied biology and chemistry, creative writing, and political science. Quite a variety for one so young. She loved them all. When it came time to decide on a course of study for post secondary education, she chose pure science with an eye on attending medical school.
Being as she is a child with an adventurous spirit, and a touch of wanderlust, she choose to attend a university halfway across the country. Her father and I missed her very much, but we both knew that this is what she wanted to do. Moreover, this was how we had raised her; to be independent and to find her own way in the world.
When she was three quarters of the way through her first year of university, my daughter the rock, the one with common sense (as opposed to her brother), the one who had always made rational decisions, had a major meltdown.
The end result of hours of telephone talks and online chats was this; she really didn't want to be a doctor after all. This didn't surprise me because I had never thought this was to be her life's work anyway. Her relief at our reaction was palpable, and to our delight, she has chosen Political Science, with a minor in Spanish.
Courses were re-arranged, schedules were re-worked, and off she went to second year. Halfway through the year, she was accepted for an overseas volunteer project that was to commence at the conclusion of second year of studies.
Smart cookie that she is, her volunteer experience complements her studies. She's living with a host family in South America, where only Spanish is spoken, so her language skills are improving by leaps and bounds. The circumstances in which she finds herself are far different from those at home and at school.
By all accounts, the family she is living with is poor, and she is challenged by the diet. Suffice to say that she is a vegetarian no longer. Even the basics like having a shower are an experience. Apparently there's nothing quite like having a shower with a chicken on the roof!
Though she has found it taxing, she has maintained her sense of humor and direction. Her work in a local school is, by all accounts, much appreciated. Her placement at a local orphanage is more difficult, though no less rewarding.
I think that all in all, I quite like the adult my daughter has become.