We’ve had lots of excitement around here this past week. My son is graduating from Baylor in May, and will be going to grad school to pursue his masters in trumpet performance in the fall. We weren’t sure for a long time, but I can finally say we know where he’s going…
Four years ago Paul was a senior in high school and applying to colleges. Northwestern was his dream school, and they rejected him. He took it well, but it was a huge disappointment.
He went to Baylor, and ended up loving it. He loves Baylor so much he even went so far as to say he was glad he didn’t get into Northwestern. It turns out Baylor was a better fit for him for undergrad. But he always said he would apply to NU again for grad school.
And here we are!!! Not only did he get accepted, but they gave him a full tuition scholarship, which was a necessary component (a music performance degree + student loan debt would be… not a good combination).
He’s so, so excited. The trumpet teacher at NU is someone Paul really wants to study with. He’ll be able to hear the Chicago Symphony ALL THE TIME, and after being born and raised in Florida and living in Texas for four years, he’ll finally live somewhere with four seasons. He’s looking forward to that (although I’m wondering how he’ll feel after his first winter in the midwest?! Eek.)
So once again, John Lennon was right. Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, then it’s not the end.
GO WILDCATS!!!
44 Responses
Wow, congrats to him!! SO exciting!!!! How funny how things can work out just how they’re supposed to sometimes, in their own due time, isn’t it?? 🙂
Thank you Kae! Honestly, it all worked out so well. I’ll be remembering this in the future when it SEEMS like things aren’t working out- just give it a little more time.
Congratulations!!! Chicago seems like a super cool city – a great place for grad school. Especially if his dream school is there. How awesome. You all must be thrilled!
Thank you Noemi! Yes, it is a super cool city! I grew up in a suburb of Chicago. We are all thrilled.
Congratulations! NU is a great school, and Chicago area is vibrant with so many resources. My son worked and lived there for a year after college and had so much fun.
However, you might want to buy your son plenty of warm clothes – winter can be challenging! And the windy city is a very apt nickname. He will definitely experience four seasons!
Thank you! And it’s funny my husband keeps talking about all the warm clothes he’ll need- “You’ll need a scarf! And gloves!” I know very well that winters up there can be challenging.
Wonderful news, well done him!
Thank you Liz!!!
YESSSSSSS!!!!! His dream school on a full scholarship!!!!!!!!!! He gets to live in Chicago!!!!! And you get to visit him!!!!!!!
I’m thinking that he will do just fine with winter – and he’ll enjoy coming home for Christmas just a little more while he’s in grad school.
Oh yes, I will be up there visiting! And- I think he’ll finally be able to appreciate the Florida heat when he comes home for vacations.
Wow, this is amazing news! Congratulations to him! Jenny, didn’t you live in Chicago when you were younger? I guess as a Floridian who lived in Texas, he will have to get a good winter coat and all the accoutrements!
Thank you Nicole! Yes, I grew up in a suburb of Chicago. I could tell stories about our awful winters! But I won’t. We’ll just focus on getting all the warm clothes.
Congratulations! Very exciting for him to get into his dream school with a full scholarship to go with it.
Thank you Sak! It really is a dream come true for him.
Congratulations!!!!! He’s going back to your roots, too! I bet you are so happy he’ll have your sister and BIL close by, too. And a full scholarship is AMAZING!! I’m so happy for him. He seems like such a joyful, awesome kid. He kind of reminds me of my Paul actually (except not this morning – oof Paul woke up on the wrong side of the bed!!!).
Congrats again!! The winters will be rough but he will adapt!
Thank you Lisa! And yes- ‘joyful” is a great word to describe Paul. Although… my Paul also wakes up on the wrong side of the bed as well occasionally ; )
Oh, congrats to him! And to you all, now that you finally KNOW: what a relief.
Thank you! Yes, it is a relief to finally know, after months and months of saying “well, if you’re here then we’ll do this, but if you’re there we’ll do the other thing…” We can finally make plans.
Wow, Congratulations! This is so awesome–a dream school, a full ride, and the consummate mentor!
(And you’ll come to Chicago and perhaps there’ll be some midwest bloggy meetups :)!)
Ooooooooh… yes I will be coming to Chicago. I’ll have to start thinking about some bloggy meetup possibilities!
Yes! Congrats to P, of course, but I’m excited that you might be coming close enough that we could see you!!
Thank you Engie! I’ll definitely be up in your neck of the woods.
Congratulations to your son – fantastic news for all! AND AND AND!! This means that you should visit Chicago (and, ahem, the state that borders Illinois to the north…) ALL THE TIME. So glad he will have family nearby and that he will be able to immerse himself in music and city life. 🙂
Thank you! And, Evanston is pretty far north in Illinois so a trip just a little farther up is a possibility!
Congrats to your son! It’s so exciting that he got into his dream school with a full scholarship!
The four seasons will be a big change, especially the winters, but I’m sure it will be nice for him to experience something new. I grew up and went to college in Colorado, which has some wild winter weather (though not as cold as the Midwest!) and my time of enduring the snow and cold as a college student is what convinced me to move somewhere warmer after graduation, haha! But at least he can come back to Florida on breaks to escape the cold!
Thank you Ashley! Yes, it will be interesting to see how the cold affects him- if he decides he likes it or realizes, finally, that living in a warm climate is preferable. I think he’s going to like Chicago so much, he won’t want to leave.
Oh my goodness Jenny, this is SO EXCITING. I’ve never met Paul, but I want to give him a giant hug and congratulate him right this second. This is amazing news. And how wonderful that it has come full circle for him.
Four seasons can be overrated, but fall is hard to beat. It makes winter almost worth it 🙂 You’ll have to make sure to visit him in the fall and maybe run some races in that climate. You know have an excellent excuse.
Thank you Elisabeth!!! I’m already trying to figure out how to get up there in the fall! Not winter. I’ll skip over that part.
Wow!! That’s such great news. Congratulations to him! Funny how things all come together like that.
Thank you Lisa! Yes, everything really came together. Phew.
AHHHH this is such amazing news!!! SO SO excited for him (and you, too!). HUGE congratulations!!!!
Thank you Sarah!!!
Congrats to your son! What a wonderful full circle moment – I love it!
Thank you Lindsay!!!
This is so great!! Can we please meet up when you come visit him? You’re going to be so close!
I know, I will be close. The only problem is, there are SO MANY midwest bloggers that I’ll be close to! How will I have time for it all???
That is so exciting. Congrats to Paul.
I bet you will want to visit. Quite a few bloggers like there too. Wendy Erica Zenaida Marcia.
I will definitely be going up to visit. Again- HOW will I have time to meet up with all these bloggers??? Eesh.
YAYAYAYAAY!!! I’m so excited for him! I’m sorry he’ll be far away, but Texas isn’t close, so I guess you’re used to it.
I’m guessing winter will be rough, with the cold and the dark and everything. But maybe he’ll love just how different it is.
Congratulations to him, I’m so glad that all of his hard work has paid off! When my husband was in graduate school, he worked as a Teacher’s assistant for his financial aid. Will your son have to do that? My husband was working on his PhD at the time, I’m not sure they do that with Master’s students…I didn’t have the option when I was working on my Master’s.
Anyway, EXCITING!
Thank you Julie!!! A lot of the schools he applied to did have a TA situation, but not NU. The scholarship is purely a merit-based award. BUT, it only covers tuition. Hopefully he’ll have some work opportunities to help cover the cost of living expenses. We’ll figure it all out. And… yes, he did have two other options in Florida, one where he would have actually been living at home. Obviously I’m sad he won’t be here, but overall I’m happy he got his #1 choice.
Oh yay! Congrats! And how wonderful to know where he’s going and have that sorted.
Chicago is such a great city. I’ve only visited a few times, but my Husband always says that he wants to retire to Chicago.
Hmm! Chicago is great, but I wouldn’t want to retire there. The winters are pretty bleak. But if that doesn’t bother you… it would be nice.
Big congrats!!! It’s perfect that he found the school better fit for him for undergrad and still get to go to his dream school for graduate degree. Sometimes things happen for a reason and everything turns out just perfect, even though we don’t understand it at the time.
Yes, very true. It’s worth thinking about when it feels like things aren’t going well- am I going to look back and see how this was all part of a process, that eventually brought good things? Anyway thank you Coco!