Rhododendron Girls State: Graduation: Part 2

We went back to Davis and Elkins College the next weekend to attend the graduation ceremonies for the Rhododendron Girls State.

We can tell how physically exhausted our daughter was after  a weeklong activities.  

It was a nice ceremony and it seems like most of the girls had a great time.

Rhododendron Girls State is a great program, however, our daughter didn't enjoyed it as much but she was glad that she attended because she met  friends that she still communicates with till this day.

They were given chords that they can wear when they graduate high school.  It said that it was the first year that they actually gave the participants the chords which was nice.

As exhausted as she was, we expected that she wanted to go home after the ceremony.  We did not attend the reception so she  wasn't able to participate in photo session.

I am glad she let us take few pictures before we head out to the dorm and got her stuff.

The two students from Madonna High School were featured in this article by Herald Star.

Rhododendron Girls State: Part 1

June 12, 2022 - Our daughter went on a week-long event in Elkins, West Virginia. She was one of the attendees that represented Madonna High School to one of the prestigious leadership program for girls in West Virginia, the Rhododendron Girls State. 

 

 Established in 1941 under the sponsorship and direction of the American Legion Auxiliary Department of West Virginia, Rhododendron Girls State is a premier experiential hands-on program that focuses on citizenship and patriotism, and develops leadership and pride in American citizens, educates citizens about our system of government, instills a greater understanding of American traditions, and stimulates a desire to maintain democratic government processes within our republic.

She originally planned on driving there by herself but we convinced her that we wanted to go with her and accompany her because it was our first time not having her for a week without us or anyone that we know whose going to be with her.  I am glad she agreed because I didn't know the main reason why  then but I felt that she was going through  some sort of an emotional  issue.  I won't delve into that in this post,  but write another article for it.

Anyway, she wasn't sure about this event.  I think she was anxious of meeting new people.  

My daughter is like me, she isn't much into sharing  story about personal issues so she didn't bring any military stuff  that she could share (which was  one of the activities they have to do).  Again, emotionally, she wasn't invested in this event.

We helped her registered and settled in to her dorm before we left.  

We told her that this is an avenue to overcome some of her anxiety issues in meeting and dealing with other people.

I gotta admit, I was more anxious of leaving her there lol.  I just prayed that she would have a great time and that she would make friends with the other girls.

Our daughter is an introvert just like me so she hoped  that she would get a room by herself.  She told us later that night that her roommate did not show up so she was happy.

We hangout a little bit after she got settled in and then we left.

The event was held at Davis and Elkins College. 

We have been to Elkins few years ago when we had our little road trip to show support to another West Virginia history bowl team from our kids school. We didn't know that we would be back again here but glad to see it again.

The view from my daughter's room was beautiful.

This was our first taste of separation anxiety.  It's getting real everyday.  I am glad that she is slowly spreading her wings but as a parent I also worry.  I know that she will be alright on her own because she is very independent and mentally strong.  This senior year is flying by so fast and its giving me severe anxiety.  She will graduate here soon and will be on her own to find her own path in life.  

S E V E N T E E N

 

Time flew so fast, just like that, our first born is seventeen!  It's still very vivid in mind when we first dropped her off to school to start kindergarten.  She was very excited to learn in a "big kid" school to continue what we have been learning at home on her pre-school days.  I am a stay at home mom and I never left our kids to daycare except one night when hubby was still in the military and we had to attend a navy ball.  We didn't have a choice not to leave them in the day care because we were in South Korea and we didn't have family there to look after them.  Fast forward to many years, she is now in her Senior years, wow.  

In previous years, we always timed our vacation on her birthdays but in the last couple of years, we didn't get to do that because of the pandemic.  I am so glad that this year, we were able to.  We spent her 17th birthday in South Dakota.   We did visit several tourist spots on her birthday week.  We did horse back riding in Custer, we explored one of the deepest cavern in Black Hills, went to Mt. Rushmore, visited the Badlands, went to see the Devil's Tower, and did and a lot more fun things while we were there.

It's kind of bitter sweet that her high school life is almost over.  I feel like she didn't get to do or experience much that a normal teen would.  She is always a silent type, very timid and keep to herself type kind of gal.  She only have a few close friends that she interacts with.  I feel bad that she got my introvert genes who feel stress out being in the crowd or going out in public.  One thing that I am very proud of her though is that, she is a very goal oriented person.  When she put her mind into something, she make sure to do well at it.

I was told that senior year will go very fast and it makes me sad to think that she will heading out to college or pursue whatever she wants to do with her career.  She plans to get into the naval academy.   She's bummed out that she didn't get to attend the navy summer camp because of the covid vaccine mandate.  She wasn't vaccinated then, we thought that the navy will not require but lo and behold, it is mandatory which sucks big time.  Now she has to be vaccinated if she wants to get accepted into the academy.  We wanted to protect her from any kind of side effects since the vaccines were not properly tested then but it kind of hinder her path so we don't have a choice but to let her vaccinated now.  It sets her back a couple of steps but at least we are sure now that the vaccine is safe.  I still pray that this won't have an effect on her health in the future.  Whatever it is that she would pursue though, we will be behind her and support her 100%.

Dearest Rye Bean,

As you advance through more serious things in life, I pray that God will continue to watch over you and guide you in navigating the rollercoaster ride of life.  Remember always that no matter what, we will be here to support you and love you.  We are so grateful for a young woman you are becoming.  You make us proud in everything that you do.  Thank you for setting a really good example to your little brother.

Love,

Mom

P.S.

Pardon your Mom for this very late post but happy birthday again sweetheart!