Life is about to become very different for all of you all. Thus far my Rat has changed a great deal for the better. Although he complains some he is very loyal to his BR's and VMI, and admittedly he doesn't complain nearly as much as I thought he would. As much as he hates some of the things he is going through and is struggling a little in Calc and History he can't imagine being anywhere else. He is actually looking forward to getting back and getting through finals. They think in terms of getting though the Rat line in increments, and with each goal reached they become more confident. He still doesn't even think about Break out because it is too far away in his mind. The physical part was a slight struggle in the beginning but the worst for DS was figuring out how to handle all the responsibilities. He was very Dyke dependent for a while but he has been blessed with a great first class-man that has helped him along the way. I can't however stress the importance of STP for DS. If he hadn't gone there he may be in serious academic trouble at this point, plus the friendships he established while there has helped him "NOT QUIT" when he wanted to. He and his closest BR that he met at STP have a pact that neither will break. It is an amazing school and although not perfect I believe it is worth every dime and DS believes it will be the hardest yet the best 4 years of his life. After spending a few days with his former HS friends he can see the difference in people and it confirms in him why he chose VMI.
Interesting to read about how other Rats are handling the Thanksgiving break. We are far from VMI, almost the other side of the country, and I think that homesickness is sort of the worst part for him. Very little complaining but does get sad when thinking of leaving to go back---I don't think it is necessarily going back to the I but leaving home again. I try to remind him that we have done more, eaten more, gone out more (which is not saying much LOL) in the last few days than we had for the last 2 months combined so home ain't exactly a rockin' place :rolleye:
I have commented to him that he is getting something out of VMI that he would not be getting out of the local state college and he did concur. I also let him know that because the Thanksgiving break was so relatively short-it is hard to turn the brain off; the holiday break in a few weeks will be a lot different and brain will clear some.