Familiar Territory

Things have since fallen into place, but back in early fall we felt it would be a good idea for Delia to have a solid Plan B for her college-choice journey.  We thought the small school Dave graduated from in Chicago had many qualities that would make it a good fit for Delia (family nearby! an awesome, but accessible theater program! a cost that was about half of other schools she was considering!).  Dave and Delia planned a long Chicago weekend centered around visiting this college, with tons of family time as the amazing perk.

They toured.  The son of one of our high school classmates was the tour guide!  The tour did not really impress Delia.  This school is much smaller.  Also, after looking at schools in CA, which are always full of students hanging outside, hammocking, skateboarding, sitting by firepits, having coffee at picnic tables, etc., she felt this campus was pretty dead.  You can see no other people in the pictures because no other students seemed to be around!  Now, maybe because it was cold or because they go home for the weekend, but her socializing was limited to the gal she stayed with and that gal's friends.

But, that part was awesome for Delia!  She connected and stayed with Anika, an old family friend of ours-- actually the daughter of old college friends of Dave's!  Anika was a gracious host, taking her to play practice, choir class, and out for ice cream, introducing her to the daughters of Dave's college friends (so fun, right?!) and other psychology majors.  The school Delia will end up at has a world-class Christian psychology program, ranked one of the best year after year.  It was funny for Delia to hear the kids at this school say their professors make them watch online lectures from her Plan A school!

Watching Anika's play practice was a highlight.  She won't do drama at her school, because that's reserved for cinema and theater majors.  This school was preparing for an impressive performance and Delia's interest was definitely peaked!  

She left her overnight visit feeling affirmed that, if possible, her Plan A was where she really wanted to be, but if for some reason that couldn't work out, she could be happy here.  It's worth noting that Delia has since applied to this school and been totally ghosted!  They told her they were "putting her application on pause" back in November and then never got back.  There seemed to be enough signs that this was maybe not the place the Lord has for her. 

Even if the college visit didn't blow her away, the time with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunties, Uncle Kyle, and cousins was spectacular!  They ate delicious meals together and played games.  They watched her Shrek performance.

They visited nostalgic places like Grau Mill and Oakbrook Mall.

She loved staying in Auntie Karen's beautiful new (to us) guest suite and giving her furry cousins lots of love.

And she came home raving about this one special meal in the local Mexican restaurant with Karen and Kyle that was one of her best ever.

They even had time for an outing to the Shedd Aquarium!  The beluga whales and dolphins were Delia's favorites.  Our Monterey Bay Aquarium doesn't have those. ;)

From the start, Delia has had her heart set on the school Ella goes to.  It's hard to imagine anything else when you see it through your sister's experience.  And Ella has been having the experience of a lifetime.  The goal was always to make that dream happen for her. But, not knowing if she'd get into the famous psychology program (she did, no problem), not knowing what her scholarship offer would look like (she was surprised and offered a top-tier academic scholarship!), and not knowing how we were going to pay for it (we've since found a solution we feel peace with) were unknowns a few months ago.  Delia was glad to have made this visit.  First, just for the great quality time with dear family, but second, because it affirmed where she thought she was being called.  Anika absolutely loves her school, as do many other kids of friends who go there.  That's the cool thing about picking a college!  There is the right place for everyone and, though figuring that out comes with some stress, the feeling of really seeing yourself in a certain place and dreaming about what life will look like there is SO exciting!  We're thankful both our girls have found that-- and that they even found it at a place where they can be together!