Growing Up Is Hard To Do!

I'm one year shy of hitting the 1/2 century mark, and even I find growing up is hard to do!

But the boy, well, he's just 20 years old - and I admit that growing up is so hard to do at that age.  But they gotta do it!

My son transferred to Brockport State College this January.  It's a whole different world for him.  Buffalo is big - really big.  Buffalo State was okay, but I think he's going to like Brockport, oh so much better.

The first week of attending Brockport had it's touch and go moments.  It's a new campus, new roommates (more about them later), and it's a small town compared to the big city of Buffalo.

The first night we dropped him off around 5:00 p.m.  He waited until after 9:00 p.m. to unpack, as his roommate (sharing the one very tiny bedroom within the suite of 6 boys), didn't come back to the dorm until then.  Bryce had wanted to unpack before then, but when he opened all the dresser drawers, they were full.  Huh?  Come to find out the student that had been in the room last semester had left mid-semester, so the remaining student had kind of spread out his stuff to encompass the entire room.  Guess he didn't think to prepare for my son's arrival until 9:00 p.m. the night before classes started.

So instead of unpacking, getting dinner, and checking out campus to find out where all his classes were the next day, the boy sat in the room and waited, and waited, and waited for said roommate to return from Band practice.  Yes, ehart, he's a band member.  Apparently Bryce isn't sure what instrument he plays, but he knows that he's in the band.  Can you tell Bryce wasn't much interested in asking him his instrument when he returned at 9:00?

Then Bryce said that 10 minutes after arriving, another suitemate asked him to go and partake in some 'extra-curricular' activity that Bryce wanted no part of.  Can you believe he asked him to go do that  just 10 minutes after he arrived????  I can!  Colleges are full of that kind of thing. 

Another of his suitemates is from the Ukraine.  He has a bad liver.  Bryce told me that "they have no drinking age over there, so he's been drinking since he was 4 years old, and now he has a bad liver."

The first day of classes, I received a few phone calls at work.  Each class the boy went to he reported to me immediately following to let me know the cost of the textbook.  Did you know that the book, workbook, lab book, and internet OWL (something like Angel, but costs $50) for College Chemistry cost almost $500!!!

The College Math book bought 'used' only cost $125!!  He called in a panic and said, "Mom, books for 2 classes already cost me more than a whole semester of books at Buff State!"  He actually shrieked this to me over the phone while I was working.  If you knew my son, you'd know that he typically never shrieks!

I told him to relax, relax, relax, because I could (if I knew the money was going for books) deposit some money into his bank account back here at home.  He's very independent and didn't like the idea (doncha love him?), but I convinced him it would be all right!

Now, I haven't heard from him since last week, so I'm thinking he's getting it all figured out!  Right?!  I hope so!  


Can I just say this:  Growing up is hard to do, AND it's going to be a loooooong semester!