6.13.2009 | Saturday

The Peas & Smart Kids

category: Daily Drama, Kid Tales
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reading time: 3 minutes

I’m going to shoot the radio.
There is a distinct possibility that I may go postal on my radios and then block all music playing TV stations from my channel surfing.  So if you hear of a crazy girl in upstate NY that apparently has gone on a radio-killing rampage, it is probably me.  You are probably wondering what the radio did to me to make me hate it so much.  The sad thing is that the radios are basically the innocent target of my wrath because it is less violent to shoot a radio than to shoot a DJ, which would be the other solution to my problem.  And my problem is the song Boom Boom Pow by the Black Eyed Peas.  I liked the song, at least the first 492 times I heard it.  But, Holy Hell, I cannot turn on the radio, and the TV, without it being on.  Yesterday I heard it 12 TIMES, 9 of which between 0600 and 1100 alone.  9 times in 5 hours TOO much.  It was on the radio that morning.  Then they appeared on the Today show and they not only performed the song, but played clips of it repeatedly AND showed the video.  They also appeared on The View and performed it there, too, along with the repeated clips.  But the kicker was when I woke up at 0130 this morning singing, OUT LOUD, Will-I-am, drop the beat now!  HELP ME,….. 

On a totally different note,…
Donovan is THE MAN!  The high school has a traditional ceremony at the end of the school year called Moving Up Day.  Since most of the school doesn’t go to graduation, they use it to also pay tribute to the seniors.  They showed a slide show of the seniors, showing pictures of them from elementary school age to now.  It was really cute and made you teary in places.  Then awards and scholarships were given out to the seniors and to some of the juniors.  My baby got about 6 awards, but, more importantly, he also wone 3 scholarships!  He got the RIT Creativity and Innovation Award (worth $24,000), the Wells 21st Century Leadership Award (worth $40,000), and the Clarkson Achievement Award (worth $36,000).  The Clarkson one is the one he wanted, since he got accepted to The Clarkson School.  They are redoing his FAFSA financial aid package, since it was incorrect the first time.  With the revised one, he was eligible for about $8,000 more in grants, and now has another $9,000 from his scholarship to go towards it, so we are waiting for the revised package to see where we stand with it before he makes a decision.  I have to say, it really pisses me off how expensive getting an education is.  It just doesn’t seem right.  Let’s face it, it is almost prohibitive for an Army family, a community well known for being underpaid.  I have been really clear about his options for college, and while maybe not ideal for him, I guess it is a good lesson in priorities and doing what you have to to achieve your goals.  This scholarship may solve this next year at The Clarkson School, but unless he gets a GREAT financial aid pacakage, it won’t be enough for the other 3 years.  And if he goes to The Clarkson School, skipping his senior year, he will miss out on any further scholarship opportunities, to include any full-rides.  Once he turns 18, which won’t be for more than a year, he will start receiving payments from a settlement his bio-dad got, but there is no way to know how big those payments will be or if they will be enough to offset the FAFSA package.  So, without being able to count on that, as he and I see it, he has a few options. 

  1. Go to The Clarkson School next year, and then go into the military to pay for the final three years if financial aid isn’t enough.  This means no senior year and no scholarship opportunities.  Attending DOES mean he is automatically accepted to Clarkson for all four years, not just the prep school year.
  2. Stay for senior year and hope for the possibility of more scholarship opportunities, something he has an excellent chance to receive.  If those opportunities and financial aid do not come through, join the military and use their benefits.

He has a lot to think about.  I just don’t want him to skip senior year and then regreat it later.  Being a senior is about more than academics.  THAT he has in the bag.  But it is okay to want to live that experience, and he definately needs some balance in his life.

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