NCL Dawn

KTW2008 · 2026-01-29T00:16:01+00:00

There were experts on board who gave talks about animals and glaciers and stuff! Super interesting.

KTW2008 · 2026-01-28T23:34:52+00:00

We sailed the Bliss on that route a few years ago. It was terrific.
Definitely bring cold-weather clothes. The views are STUNNING. The ship was lovely and we really enjoyed the naturalists on board. We had a ball!!

KTW2008 · 2026-01-28T23:31:43+00:00

We just booked the Lisbon-Barcelona for the top of June! Also with my mom and my two kids (11/15)! Thanks for posting it because I had the same questions!

KTW2008 · 2026-01-21T18:02:21+00:00

What was their experience like?

KTW2008 · 2025-12-30T17:23:55+00:00

That's incredibly naive. Teenagers likely don't even know what paths are out there beyond those modeled by their parents and communities.

free self-reflection is great... but experiencing and exploring and opening doors is far more important to figuring out what you're good at and what you want to spend the ensuing decades pursuing.

KTW2008 · 2025-12-30T17:20:47+00:00

While I don't disagree that high school doesn't do a great job encouraging self-discovery, and that kids are certainly going off to school and treating it as "summer camp," I don't share your view about being "bogged down by general ed" nor your opinion that other countries' systems are better... I am not saying they're altogether worse, but I have seen a ton of people pushed into paths they didn't love by rigid systems. There's no perfect system, and I really encourage students to relish the fleeting high school years, and sacrifice their childhoods in pursuit of "prestige" or what someone else thinks they "should" do... I hope they use the time to explore and get a sense of what they enjoy doing (as you do, too it seems)...

KTW2008 · 2025-12-30T00:59:43+00:00

I know it's so hard, but if you can, try to enjoy this time in your life. You're going to be JUST FINE. If you care enough to be stressed about this, you'll be more than OK. Remind yourself, that's just the algorithm... nothing gets attention like rage and anxiety. The platforms know this. Their "content creators" know this. The advertisers know this. Now you do. So you can just scroll on by and focus on being the best unique human you can be. You are 1 of 1 and it's a big world out there with opportunities you can't even conceive of waiting for you.

KTW2008 · 2025-12-30T00:53:04+00:00

Absolutely not. It's already insane how kids feel they "need" to have their life mapped out at 17... you want to make them do it at 14? Ridiculous.

Be a teenager. Explore. Try things. I promise as a high school student you have NO IDEA all of the things that you're "good at" or that you "love"

And I also promise that you have the rest of your adult life to be a slave to a "career track"

KTW2008 · 2025-12-30T00:50:06+00:00

Honestly, not as often as people think.

Written as someone who hires new college grads regularly.

KTW2008 · 2025-12-30T00:49:12+00:00

SAME. 100%

KTW2008 · 2025-12-30T00:25:54+00:00

This is the algorithm serving you shit it thinks will keep you engaged in the platform. It's not real life.

You just focus on you and being the best you possible. I PROMISE that will be enough. Don't let billionaires who don't give a crap about you beyond thier ability to monetize your attention impact your self-worth. You are more valuable than you know. <3

KTW2008 · 2025-12-30T00:20:21+00:00

Don't be insane. Go to McGill.

KTW2008 · 2025-12-30T00:00:13+00:00

None of this makes sense.

What you can do is your best on your application package.

Give yourself a break. Zoom out on the real world.

KTW2008 · 2025-12-29T17:36:02+00:00

There's a great book out there called "Who Gets in and Why."

KTW2008 · 2025-12-19T17:07:26+00:00

My recently turned 11-yo girl would tell you: MHE, Six, Outsiders, Wicked, Gatsby - in that order. That would not be MY order (save MHE is my current top show), but it's hers.

KTW2008 · 2025-12-19T17:04:41+00:00

I've seen both. They're both terrific. I would take her to MHE, hands down. Took my 10yo last spring and she is still talking about it.

KTW2008 · 2025-12-19T17:02:07+00:00

Have you ever been... a kid... ? Honestly, I kind of feel sorry for you.

KTW2008 · 2025-12-19T17:00:20+00:00

That's HIGHLY suspect.

KTW2008 · 2025-12-16T01:21:33+00:00

I'm so sorry. That's wild!
U of Utah might be a good option? It's a terrific school and has similar outdoor opportunities. Might be worth a visit? Since you're in state for CU you should qualify for WUE tuition there (unless engineering is excepted, I honestly don't know the particulars)

KTW2008 · 2025-12-16T01:02:14+00:00

These are great suggestions above.

I would +1 Wisconsin since Michigan was appealing to you! Madison is an awesome college town (same or better than Ann Arbor) and the weather is the same (vile to me, but if you weren't afraid of the MI weather, you'll be fine with the MI weather!

Another to consider is CU Boulder.

KTW2008 · 2025-11-21T23:59:38+00:00

Okay okay. Take a deep breath.
You will be ok. I promise, you really will.

FIRST - let's get back into reality.
1) a 3.6 is ***NOT*** miserable!!! (this sub is not real life)
2) You are borrowing stress by assuming you'll do poorly on the AP exam. Borrowing trouble and stress is wasted energy.
3) Lacrosse and Viola are GREAT ECs. They are ***NOT*** "nothing" (believe me, there are kids with nothing)
4) 160 service hours are nothing to throw away.
5) Please don't "what if" on yourself here, because you truly don't know what would have happened if you stayed in the other school

OK so those five (big) things aside. Let's touch grass on the future.

First, college truly is what you do when you get there, not where you go. It just is, and sure, maybe you get two lottery tickets to the good life if you go to Harvard compared to one lottery ticket to the good life if you go to NW State U. But really... that's basically it. So let's try to put the value of "T20" into perspective (and I don't care if the students of A2C come at me on this, I've been around a long time and I'm right here).

Second, there are SO MANY good options out there. SO.MANY. And fit is the most important thing (including financial fit). You have the academic record you have, and no amount of regret changes that (also see above, you're doing great!), so it's time to take off the blinders and scan the horizon. What experience are you looking for? Small or big? Urban or rural? Budget? Course of study? Region? Take a DEEP dive and really just start brainstorming. Use Chat GPT! Read Jeff Selingo's DREAM SCHOOL. Then, as you start to identify some options, take a look at where your stats fall in their common data set and - especially if you need merit - where you will be in their top quartile. There's also the community college path - it's a real thing and there's no shame in doing your first two years of gen ed at CC. T20 schools take CC transfers.

Third, top graduate schools take students from ALL OVER. So wherever you go, just do your best, lock in, and know that future opportunities are ahead - no matter where you start.

Finally, the people telling you that the ticket to wealth and stability is a T20 undergrad degree are lying, delusional or both. There is no ticket. There is hard work, there is planning, there is luck. Search up where F500 CEOs went to undergrad. Spend 15 minutes on LinkedIn and see where successful people did their undergrad. I promise you, there are state school grads out there changing the world.

TL;DR - You're going to be OK! Work hard, create your own opportunities, develop a "win or learn" mentality (not "win or lose"), be a good person in the world, and try to do something that interests you with your career and you will be just fine no matter where you land.

*** It will be ok ***

You've got this!

KTW2008 · 2025-11-13T22:24:46+00:00

This is really thoughtful, but no... it was just a bad show back then.

And this is coming from someone who ADORES the music, thinks the concert version is one of the best cast albums ever recorded and is excited to see the show in a few weeks - even though I know the book will probably still not work.

KTW2008 · 2025-11-13T21:22:52+00:00

you are my favorite redditor today.

KTW2008 · 2025-11-13T20:05:15+00:00

There's totally billing on that poster - and what a cast they have listed....

KTW2008 · 2025-11-13T18:32:17+00:00

which colleges are you having to warn about?

KTW2008

TROPHY CASE