Fleeting Freshman

We just put Katie back on the MegaBus this afternoon. Her friend Ji from South Korea was on the bus from Columbia to here as she attends Mizzou, and is traveling to Chicago to spend a few days with Katie. Unfortunately Katie's schedule Mondays through Wednesdays is jam-packed, but other friends from Webster Groves will hook up with Ji as their time allows.

Katie now has only 45 days left in her freshman year. That includes weekends and the fact that she doesn't have school on Thursdays or Fridays, so her actual classroom time is much less than that. It seems like only a couple months ago that we headed off to Chicago for orientation. The time has truly blown by for us, and for her as well I think. If she did not have such a bizarre roommate, she would have loved every minute of it. She enjoys the excitement of Chicago and the challenge of her classes. And I'll brag for a moment and mention that Columbia College nominated her for membership in the National Honor Society, which is reserved for students in the top 20% of the school possessing a 3.4 GPA or greater. For the first semester she received a 3.9 as she got an A- in one of her classes.

She is taking a few classes at Meramec Community College this summer as she wants to free up her schedule at Columbia to take more classes in her major of Marketing Communications. She is working with the different department heads to see if she can minor in Asian Studies, but since that is not a designated minor (or major, for that matter) they are trying to determine if that is possible. I give her props for pushing for it as she very much would like to work in China when she graduates, which is why she is taking Mandarin Chinese. She is already considered a sophomore due to the classes she took in high school, and she is set to graduate in three years. That is awesome, and one of the many reasons we are willing to help her study in China in 2011.

Last night we took Katie and her best friend from high school to Tucker's for supper. Maggie is studying pre-med at St. Louis University and working at the hospital as well. She is a bright, motivated young lady and very much like a second daughter to me. It was a fun meal, listening as they talked about what they have liked about college so far and their plans for the future. They have grown so much since high school graduation!

Next weekend Jim and I will go over to Chicago and look at apartments with Katie for next year. She is done with the dorm and all the shenanigans that go on there. I believe she will have two roommates; one is a friend from high school and the the other is her Chinese tutor. We will be looking at three bedroom units, if we can find one within the budget. An added bonus is that we will get to spend Easter with Katie. I'll be taking over an Easter basket for her as this is something I've done for her since she was a baby. Some things shouldn't have to change...