College Boy

Some days I look at my oldest son and can't figure out how it happened, this growing-up thing.  Just the other day, we'd moved to Grand Rapids and he was in the fifth grade.  Fifth grade!  And he was going to be in the advanced class, the one for the especially smart kids.

Now he's in college.  Made the Dean's List.  Majoring in Literature or Language or something else equally impressive. Looks like quite the collegiate person, doesn't he?  Hair a bit long, fashionable goatee kind of thing, scarf.  Reminds you of Dr. Who, doesn't he?  Only he hasn't a Police Box, just a dorm room.

We went to see him today, to talk scholarships and jobs, the two most important priorities -- at least, for the parents. Adam's priorities are somewhere else, somewhere in the middle of his studies, his writing, his gaming; all those things that grab hold of your brain and don't let go.  He's near the end of the first year of his college career, hopefully the start of many yet to come, and it's our job to bring him down from the heights to face the reality that college is way too expensive and he's got to do his part or there won't be any college at all.

It's not an easy message for someone who loves learning as much as he does.  If there were only a way he could focus on the learning and ignore all the day-to-day mundane details which are necessary to provide the foundation of the experience - but he can't.  We don't have a wishing stick or magic wand to wave around and make the piles of money appear, or convince the administration to lower the cost of college to the point that people could actually afford it without going into debt for the rest of their lives.  Especially people who aren't looking for a particularly high-paying job when they get out, but just wanting to broaden their experiences and their horizons and their understanding of the world and the humanity that lives upon it.

I hope he applies for and receives all sorts of scholarships; I hope he finds a good summer job soon that will allow him to help pay for his education.  Mostly, I hope he - and we - won't have to stress out over the expense of college for the next four years.  At least he only has to worry about his own four years; we've got three more right behind him who are going to be worrying about their own financial journey.

Meanwhile, it's always nice to go up to the college and visit with him awhile, even when he's obviously distracted by much more important things.  I love my son dearly, and pray for him often, and hope that God will grant him the blessing of success and contentment in his chosen field of study.