PRISTINE!! It was the first and last word that came to mind during my visit to the University of Puget Sound (http://www.pugetsound.edu/) located in Tacoma, Washington.
I arrived on the pristine campus early Sunday afternoon. As I toured the campus, I looked high and low for evidence of Saturday night college happenings, twelve hours prior. Where is it? There was no empty beer bottles, potato chip bags, or pizza boxes lining the dorm hallway floor for someone, other than mom, to come behind and clean up. There were no unsightly bathrooms that screamed the janitors were off duty until Monday morning. And to my surprise, I never saw as much as a hole missing a screw or a manicured blade of grass out of place.
By 12:30pm my tour guide was already pointing out a baseball game, softball game, and a lacrosse game. I chose to sit and watch a few innings of baseball and enjoy the good music coming from the field speakers. Adding to the experience, the baseball team was playing their rival, Pacific Lutheran.
As I continued my tour I wore a smile on my face, as did many of the other moms touring the campus. I reminisced of a time, years ago, when I was on college tours with my daughters, so I had a pretty good idea why these moms were smiling. It was the same smile of satisfaction you would see on a mom who had just toured the perfect daycare for her toddler. Everything is in its place. Smiling kids everywhere. And a floor so spotless that even the most overprotective mom wouldn’t freak out if her little one ate off the floor. On this tour these moms seemed pleased at the thought of leaving their eighteen-year-old baby on this pristine campus.
I know that prospective students on the same tour may or may not have noticed just how pristine the campus looked, or how safe the surrounding area appeared. More than likely, their attention and priorities are elsewhere. And rightly so! Choosing the “right college” will look and feel different from student to student, each with their own list of needs and desires.
Are you a mom who would feel a sense of relief from having such a pleasing visual of where your teen would eat, sleep and shower? Maybe you feel that you would sleep better, worry less and have a peace of mind. Well, get over it!! Your teen will be fine if the college they want to attend is not pristine. She probably won’t eat off the floor anyway, but instead may leave her clothes there for weeks at time. And probably everything won’t be in its place, even if you helped set up her dorm room. And of course there will be smiling teens when there are no parents around, and they will eat whatever they want.
Tip: Moms, lace up your walking shoes and enjoy a variety of campus tours with a smile. Try and make an effort to not overstate perfect or imperfect eating, sleeping, and showering areas to your teen, even though it’s tempting. It’s probably not important to him or her. But, listen closely to find out what is important to your teen.