So... now that everyone's a month or more into the school year, how's it going...
I wish I had better news to report. My daughter's not having a great time of it. On our Facetime call this weekend, she said "I feel like I'm 'over' this whole college thing, and it's only been a month."
It's not HORRIBLE. It's just not good. She claims she has no friends, but when I asked her to walk through her week, it sounds like she does quite a bit of stuff with various people. She's not alone/isolated, but she's lacking a "best friend" to check in with daily, make plans with, etc. (Her boyfriend used to be that person... but she only gets to talk with him once a week, and briefly at that. I think that's been harder than she anticipated.)
She met a group of girls during welcome week that she hung out with for the first few weeks. But there was some sort of falling out there. Sigh. From the sound of it, I didn't think this group sounded like they were a super-great fit anyway... but it still hurts. In good news, her upperclassmen roommates (who were BFFs before this year) have been including her in some things... so that's at least nice. The first few weeks, they kind of kept to themselves.
Classes are harder than she thought (and she doesn't like one of her teachers), but she's doing reasonably well. She's had at least one test in all classes, and two tests in a few. She's holding her own with decent grades. Not as high as she'd hoped... but decent.
Last week, something pretty traumatic happened. A stolen car ran a red light and hit two 18-year-olds who were crossing the street in the crosswalk right outside DD's dorm room. She did not see the actual impact, but heard the crash and the screaming and she saw the immediate aftermath. One girl died and the other is still hospitalized. After hitting the pedestrians, the car hit a tree and the suspects fled on foot. (I believe they've caught at least 2... and they were juveniles.) She says she's doing OK after witnessing it (and pointed out that if she's going to be a nurse, she's probably going to see worse eventually). But, I am confident that she had not seen anything like that before... and it had to be at least somewhat traumatic. (Her roommate did not go to class the next day because she was so upset.)
Then today, her Instagram got hacked. Someone posted a bunch of get-quick-rich-scheme stuff about Bitcoin. She says she can't log into her account. They've apparently changed her password and e-mail address. She's trying to work with Instagram to get it back, but... again... just another hassle she doesn't need.
This weekend is her Fall Break so she's going to come home for it. (It's really only Monday, but she's done with class at 9am Friday, so it's almost 4 days.) I will be glad to have her home.
I wish this was easier (on both of us!) It's hard when they're away and unhappy.