Holly's Top Highlights of 2018

As I look back on 2018, while there were plenty of difficult things (college essays — barf.), there were so many more amazing things that happened to me and it was truly a great year. In no particular order, here are my top moments of 2018.

1. Getting into Cornell

2. Getting to play Anne Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank 

3. Visiting my 6th continent (Asia) 

4. Going on my first ever out-of-country trip without my family (and with friends) 

5. Going to Ireland 

6. Going to Paris 

7. Getting cast as Fiona in Shrek 

8. Doing fancy virtual reality research at Cornell 

9. Seeing 20 Broadway shows between the 4 of us 

10. Getting Gucci sneakers for Christmas (I’ve loved them for years and it was SO unexpected)

As you can see, it’s been a year of boujee traveling and wins abound, and I just want to say thanks to my family and friends and all the people who helped me through it all. Let’s make 2019 even better!

-- Holly 

My Annual Check-Up With God

AGENT: Number 96. Now serving Number 96.

ME:  That’s me.

AGENT:  How can I help you?

ME:  I’d like a half pound of the Genoa salami, thinly sliced.

AGENT: Am I moving on to 97, funny man?

ME: Sorry, couldn’t help myself. I’m here for my annual check up with the big guy.

AGENT (noting the big calendar on the wall behind him): Cutting it a little close this year.

ME: My insurance only covers one check-up per year.

AGENT (gives me a hard stare): I see you haven’t gotten any funnier in 2018.

ME: Funnier? I’m not sure it’s possible to get much funnier than I am already.

AGENT: Nice. Might want to try a little humility when you see HIM.

A buzzer rings on the desk.

AGENT: He’ll see you now.

He pulls a lever which drops me down a chute into a room with bright white light all around me.

GOD’s disembodied voice booms, coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

GOD: Hello.

ME: Oh hey. God. Thanks for squeezing me in so close to the end of the year.

GOD: How are you?

ME: Me?  I’m good. Pretty great actually. My wife and kids are happy and healthy. Thanks for that. 2018 really was a whirlwind year.

GOD: That’s something coming from you. You guys generally pack it in EVERY year.

ME: True. But there was so much going on. Work is good, took some awesome trips, spent time with friends and family, my daughter got into college—

GOD: Congrats on that. Must be a huge weight off.

ME: Thanks!  It is — for all of us.

GOD: So 2019’s going to bring a lot of changes.

ME: It will. We’ll be empty nesters for the first time in 18 years.

GOD: That’s big. How are you feeling about that?

I think for a moment.

ME: I’m not really looking forward to that part. I mean, I’m excited for my daughter to go to college. She’s going to the same great school where her brother will be a senior so I’m happy they’ll share a year there together.   All of that is good. I mean great.

GOD: But?

ME: But I’m going to miss having my kids around.

GOD: That’s natural.

ME: Sure. I know that. Most parents love their kids but I totally adore spending time with mine. It took years as they were growing up before I agreed to let them go to sleep away camp. I didn’t want to be away from them for that long.

GOD: But you did.

ME: I did. And I’m glad they went. It helped them become more independent and self-sufficient. It was a great experience.

GOD: Excellent. They are great kids!  You and your wife did a fine job.

ME: They are. Thanks! And that’s why I know college will be great too.

GOD: It will. You will see them and you and your wife will get used to having more time for the two of you.

ME: Really?

GOD: I’m GOD. I know stuff.

ME: Right. Still it’s reassuring to hear you say that.

GOD: 2019 is going to be awesome. For all four of you.

ME: That’s great. Thanks for listening.

GOD: It’s what I do.

ME: Happy New Year, God!

GOD: Happy New Year!

— Frosty

 

Five Pets I’d Like to Have

Five Pets I’d Like to Have

(This is assuming that all mystical creatures exist, and that any animal/creature you have as a pet is completely domesticate-able and will cater to your every whim).

1. Teacup Pig

This is my number one pet that I want so much. They’re so ridiculously adorable, and they’re smart — as smart as a 3yo toddler. And they make such cute squealing and snorting noises (much less abrasive than barking in my opinion).

2. Bear

Having a bear as a pet would be awesome because when it was a baby it’d be like a little living teddy bear. And then when it grew up it’d be like a giant cuddly bed/mystical protector like in a fantasy video game.

3. Deer

This goes along with the fantasy warrior companion thing, but I feel like deer aren’t so incomprehensible to have as a pet. They’re kind of similar to horses and other barnyard animals. That’d be cool though.

4. Dragon

Now we’re venturing into mystical territory. Anyone who’s watched Game of Thrones has thought of what it would be like to have a dragon. I would love to have a big scary dragon to avenge me to my enemies and protect me, and then also a little pocket dragon (see the fourth Harry Potter movie) to sit in my shoulder and sneeze fire adorably.

5. Phoenix

I feel like phoenixes are an underrated mystical creature. It would be SO cool to hold your arm out and have your magical fire bird swoop down to land on it. Also they have other cool powers besides being firy so that’s good too.

-- Holly 

How To Get (Your Kid) Into College -- Part 2

In case you missed Part 1, you can check it out here:  https://4callingbirds.blogspot.com/2018/12/how-to-get-your-kid-into-college-part-1.html

Part  2 is about the application. 

First bit of advice, and I can’t stress this enough -- definitely apply somewhere Early Decision.  You’ve made your list of schools and if there is one, first choice, stretch school that your kid knows they want to attend if they get in, apply Early Decision.  There are countless articles out there about the fact that as colleges are increasingly focused on yield, they are admitting more and more of their entire class on an Early Decision basis because those students are committing to attending their school.  Don’t overlook this option.  You’ll thank me later.

Next topic is the Common App essay.  Assuming you are applying through the Common App, they give you a choice of 4 or 5 prompts.  You must pick one and have up to 650 words to write an essay.  You school’s guidance counselor will tell you the goal should be that if some of your kid’s high school friends found this essay in the hallway, they should be able to read the essay and know that your kid wrote it.  This means it needs two things:

(1)   Tell Their Unique Story: Many of the essay prompts are broad enough that you can fit almost anything into one of the topics.  Help your kid figure out their unique story to tell.  What are they most passionate about?  How have they explored this passion in a way that few others have?  Most admissions essays are deathly boring.  Tell a story that will be memorable and uniquely yours.

(2)   Voice: Let your kid write their own essays.  It is extremely important that your kid’s essay sounds like your kid.  Your kid has a way of speaking that is distinctively THEM.  You want this to come through in a big way.  You can tinker with spelling and grammar but you don’t want to edit their voice out of the essay they write.  Think about word choices.  Don’t suggest your child write with long, esoteric words unless your child actually speaks that way.  The people reading the essay will know when words feel out of place with the voice in the rest of the essay.

In addition to the Common App essay, many colleges have their own specific essays that you need to write when applying there.  With my daughter, we found schools with none, with one and all of the way up to eight (yes, eight!) additional essays.  They all have length limitations that must be strictly adhered to.  Some are as short as 35 characters (including spaces!) so you need to make every word count.  Others are as long as 500 words.  These require a lot of work (writing and rewriting) so make sure to leave yourself lots of time. 

Many of these college-specific essays take the form of “Why College X?”.  These essays are a bit tricky.  The colleges know they are great.  You don’t need to tell them they are great.  You need to explain why they are great FOR YOU.  They are all hyper aware and on the lookout for tell-tale signs that you might be sending the same “Why College X?” essay to every school and just changing the name.  You shouldn’t do that.  What you should do is pull out all of the notes you and your child took when you were touring campus and sitting in the info session and use those notes to inform your essay.  What stood out to you then?  Share the story about the conversation you had with your tour guide that made you feel like this was a place you could fit in.  Talk about the meeting you had with the chair of X department (and mention him/her by name).  Each of these elements show that you have done your diligence and have been convinced this could be the right school for you.  Another good source of essay fodder is to do some research on majors/programs/features that College X has that others don’t and if they interest you, mention them in your essay. 

One last tip in this area is to mention other areas of interest beyond your child’s intended major.  If they have studied Latin in high school and think they might continue in college, mention that if College X has a Latin department.  During your tour, if your kid thought an exhibit in the Entomology (bugs) Department was cool, mention that they might want to take a class in that subject.  College X will likely have thousands of applicants for the Biology department but your application might stand out a little more if you were the Bio major who also wanted to study video game design.

Last topic I’ll mention is letters of recommendation.  Choose teachers or employers who know your child.  Some people reach out to some well-known author or scientist they are 6 degrees removed from thinking it would be great if their child had a letter of recommendation from someone famous.  If that person doesn’t know your kid, it will be transparent in the letter and the admissions officers will recognize it as the stunt that it is.  Far better to get a sincere recommendation from the school’s janitor (see https://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/05/a-relationship-with-a-janitor-helped-this-teen-get-into-the-ivy-league.html) than from a department chair who only knows your kid superficially.  Choose wisely.  Good recommendations can make an application stand out.

That’s all I’ve got.  I’m sure other things might come to mind from time to time but those are today’s pearls of wisdom.  Oh, and remember to send your kid’s SAT, ACT, SAT subject test and any other relevant scores directly from the relevant testing organization.  Your school’s guidance office should provide details on how and when to do this.

Hope this helps.  It’s a tough process but everyone gets through it.  And despite what some schools might want you to believe, there is more than one “perfect” college for your kid.  Lots of luck!

-- Frosty

Lunchtime

“Give it back!”

Jonathan held my lunch under his arm, staring at me as he started to back away. He was such a jerk. I spent hours preparing my food and this asshole comes into my house to take it.

He had dark brown hair and grubby little fingers; he looked at me like I was some sort of monster. What a douche.

He ran down the street with my lunch and I lumbered after him. Usually I would be able to catch him but I was wiped from getting my lunch. I lost him around the corner but my nose never fails me and soon found him hiding in a garden.

And then I freakin ate him and my lunch (his brother) because I’m a goddamn grizzly bear.

-- Rudolph

Happy Boxing Day!

Happy Boxing Day!

I feel like this “holiday” takes on a whole new meaning when it falls on the same day that one needs to put out the paper recycling – which it did for us.

Anyway, in addition to opening many boxes wrapped in pretty Christmas paper yesterday, I also got to check out a big box of family photos. There were sooo many photos that we couldn’t get through them all in one sitting. 

I absolutely love old photos, especially ones of family.  I like the clothes, the settings and/or occasions the photographer deemed noteworthy, the food on the table, the cars people were driving back then, and so on.  Many of the pictures contain people that are no longer with us.  These are extra-special to me since they provide a glimpse of who they were.

All of the photos I’ve perused thus far have been great, but one that is coming to mind the most right now is one of my father in a row boat.  This timing of this photo preceded me so I never knew the rowboat nor the house that was built next to it by various members of my family.  In the picture, my father was actually bailing out the boat.  I think it just had some residual rainwater in it, not that it was taking on water or anything.  He is smiling in the picture hence my conclusion about just a little rainwater. 

Another photo that is staying with me is a picture of my brother with four of his best buddies at the time (at the age of 4).  Each boy is sitting on some form of serious 4-year-old transportation circa the 1950s: bikes, little scooter cars, etc.  They all look primed to start racing at any moment, right towards the photographer.  The whole scene is just such a moment in time of childhood fun. 

My next goal is to sort through and organize all of the photos chronologically.  I am looking forward to further examining this time capsule!

- Eve

Vintage Christmas

Since it is Christmas and they say a picture is worth a thousand words, I'm sharing a vintage Christmas photo of my brother.  Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

-- Eve