By Emily Renee Lingenfelser
My four year old has recently started referring to his daycare as “college.” When he gets up in the morning and I ask if he is ready for school, he looks at me and says, “I want to go to college.” I laugh and get him ready for yet another day, but I cannot help feeling insanely proud.
They say that kids mimic the roles they see presented in the home: girls pretending to be mothers, wives, homemakers, or nurses; boys pretending to be fathers, husbands, farmers, or executives. But how many four-year-olds do you know who pretend to be in college? I found this entirely fascinating, because it is something that I have never thought about.
For my son’s entire life, I have been in college. He has grown up with a mother struggling for balance, but at the same time, he has had experiences some children lack. As a college mother, I couldn’t even count the number of times I have taken my son on campus. He has played games on computers in the library as I hurried to meet a deadline on a paper. He has sat beside me as I met with my academic advisor and planned my classes. He has gone with me to get textbooks, fill out forms, and pick up my ID, on and on and on. Every step of my journey in college, my son has been right beside me.
Knowing that he is finally starting to understand all this really makes me excited. It has been a real struggle for me to make it to my senior year of college. I have made sacrifices and worked so incredibly hard to get where I am today. Even though I have had to give up time with my child, I believe that he realizes how important college is for the both of us. Hearing him talk about going to college, doing homework, and taking tests makes me realize that I made the right decision to continue my education.
Emily Renee Lingenfelser is the winner of the 2011 YML Scholarship. Application details for the 2012 scholarship will be posted soon!
Awesome post! Emily be sure to lift as you climb and encourage other young moms to continue their education. Educating women helps EVERYONE!
Being the village,
Auntieof2
This is Awesome! Your kids will certainly benefit from your example and sucess. Congrats on Senior year. Graduation is around the corner.
My son will start REAL college after this summer (He’s 16!). The cool thing is that he’s kinda already been as it was the same college I attended during the 9 months I was pregnant. He also came with me at a few weeks old to pick up my first year results, and came on regular visits the follow year. He’s already been in the staff room and held my half the tutors! (some of which are still there!) How many college students can say that?! For some reason he didn’t mention any of this at his college interview though!
Emily, I know the feeling. I’ve been there and I can relate to you on every level. My children both say the same thing and I absolutely love it. At least something good has come out of me having to bring them along to some of my classes is how I look at it.
Keep up the good work and don’t give up. I’m 9 school days away from completing my undergraduate career. It’s not impossible. Stay strong and keep on!
@Carla – Congrats on finishing!! That’s a HUGE accomplishment!!
Thanks Tara. You and your blog have truly been an inspiration!
@Carla – I went and read your blog! It was so refreshing to see somebody in the same boat as me with big dreams! I plan on going on to graduate and Ph.D studies as well (fingers crossed!). But it must be SO exciting to be that close to graduating finally. I can only imagine. It just hit me recently that I am nearing the end. I truthfully never really saw the end goal or thought I would graduate. Enjoy it! Cherish it! You worked so hard and you deserve it! I know I am going to cry like a baby when I do.
It is such an accomplishment and nobody can take it away from you!
Em,
Thank you for your words. I haven’t decided if I wanted to go as far as Ph.D level, but I’m not totally ruling it out. I think I’ve cried since I started summer school back in June. And as July 27, 2012 approaches, I’m positive I’ll most likely cry throughout the entire ceremony.
Again, keep up the good work!
I lovelovelove this post. <3
I identify with this SO much. It makes so much sense to me now that I’ve read this blog. My daughter (who is four years old), too, constantly talks about college. Not only does she talk about college, but she specifically wants to go to Harvard — and believe me, I do not attend Harvard LOL, I wish!! I never understood where she got that from, but I embrace it and can only hope that her scholarly dreams come true.
I too have been a college mom for the majority of my daughters life. And I too have brought her on campus with me, and she has even attended a class wit me last semester (you can thank the end of pre-k for that, which was a week before summer camp started & during my finals week… yikes). She sees me doing homework, writing papers, all of that. And she mimics it. Makes so much sense now!!! Thank you.
By the way, congratulations on almost completing your college degree! That is so awesome. Your son will be SO SO proud of you when he sees you crossing that stage. It is not easy, but it just goes to show that it CAN be done. Thank you for being an inspiration.
Congratulations on graduating soon! I am so encouraged by your post. Like many on this thread, my son mostly remembers me on the computer typing up paper after paper. Now that I completed my MBA it feels strange not to have to research information or submit papers. My son, who is 9, recently told me that he’s going to Princeton! I’ve never attended an Ivy League school, but why not my son?? I am happy to know that so many of us have similar stories to share!