And it’s the one that makes the most sense, of course. Yes, folks, he’s going to the hometown University – Arizona State!
You see, Arizona State University did this really cool thing. While he was weighing pros and cons they gave him a call. By they, I mean a super chill guy named Luis from the financial aid office. Luis wanted my son to know that Arizona State University decided they wanted him badly enough to pay for his full tuition and fees, for four years. Yeah, baby!
That bit of information made his decision so much easier, and it opened me up to admitting that deep down I dreaded the idea of him being all the way in Indiana, no matter how terrific Purdue University is (and I truly believe that it is terrific). He’ll be close by, he can still see his grandparents regularly, and several of his close friends are going there as well. Who knows, maybe they’ll rent a house together after freshman year? I suppose it’s possible.
My greatest fear, the university’s sheer size, has also been calmed. He was invited to apply to a particular engineering program that puts together a cohort of students who have similar educational goals. He was accepted right away. I suppose that fact that they invited him to apply meant that they wanted him in the program. I’m not sure about that one. It doesn’t matter though, I think it will be a good fit for him, sort of a school within a school approach. In fact, it seems similar to the International Baccalaureate program from which he’s graduating high school (only on a much more difficult scale, of course).
Anyway, I suppose it was inevitable. From birth this guy has been surrounded by ASU “stuff.” He had Sparky onesies and he attended Sundevil football games in diapers. His bedroom was painted gold with maroon accents, and his clock sported Sparky pointing to the hour and minute. His golf towel is embroidered with the pitchfork, and the plastic cups in our kitchen bear the ASU logo. Yes, this boy is a Sundevil, and this mom is a proud ASU mom.
My boy and I took off over spring break. Just the two of us. We hit the road, and stayed in a posh “old” Hollywood Hotel that stretched the limits of my budget, but you know what? I didn’t care.
I had breakfast with Audrey Hepburn and he putted with Tiger Woods. We sent home photos of Forrest Gump and Lawrence of Arabia. I even shelled out for the silly green screen photos they took of us escaping a dinosaur attack.
The good news is that we got some exercise too. We hoofed it around the LaBrea Tar Pits, the LA Farmer’s Market, and USC’s campus, not to mention all the miles at Universal Studio and along the Walk of Fame. I even swam laps in the post hotel pool (sight of a Marilyn Monroe photo shoot long ago, I’m told).
BulgingButtons 