Alex Nall Accepted at ASMS

My son, Alexander Nall, got his official acceptance letter yesterday for the Alabama School of Math and Science. I cried like a baby when I opened it.

The process was very, very competitive and there were only a very small number of slots available. This is a HUGE accomplishment for Alex. Its also confirmation that his father and I have done an excellent job raising him.

Now that he has been accepted he is having major second thoughts. Last night we shed a lot of tears. Second thoughts are normal for a young boy about to leave everything he has ever known, enter a strange place filled with strange people and embark on a huge educational adventure. This is equivalent to going away to college...two years early.

Alex has only changed schools once in his entire life and he has been at the school he currently attends since third grade. He also just recently acquired his first girlfriend. I was NOT happy about that at first. I knew he would get in to ASMS and I knew that having to leave his first girlfriend behind would make the process of leaving home that much more difficult. But, I didn't forbid him from seeing his girlfriend. She seems to be a real sweet kid and I know that outright forbidding him from seeing her would probably backfire. It always did when my mom tried it on me.

Last night he told me that he never really wanted to go to ASMS....that his competitive nature compelled him to see if he could get in and completing the process and gaining admission was all he wanted. Now that he had proved to himself he could do it he no longer wanted to go.

You gotta admit that is a very slick argument from a 15-year-old kid. I don't think I could have come up with a better one myself. But, slick as it was it didn't convince me. I know what cold feet and second thoughts are and that is all he is having.

I made a deal with him. I said if he would agree to go and try it out for the first semester that I would let him come back home if he just absolutely hated it and was miserable. I know in my heart that he will absolutely love the place, that they will challenge him to the max and hone his competitive nature to a razor sharp edge. That is what he lives for. I also know that once he gets settled in he will love it and wonder how he was ever able to attend another school. From what I saw when I visited, the facilities are much more advanced than most, if not all, two year college campuses in Alabama. It is a really amazing place.

Anyway, I am EXTREMELY proud of my boy and I wanted to share some of my joy with my readers.


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