KSU Semester 1 Complete!

I’m struggling to believe that our first kiddo in college has already completed a semester. I’m way too young to have a child in college and it’s winter break already! It sure was an interesting end. For weeks, Morgan’s final exams and projects have been on the books. Her final two exams were early morning Wednesday, December 15th, and 6:30p.m. that evening. Macroeconomics and Business Calculus. UGH that’s just cruel and unusual punishment. The plan shifted a few times between coming home Wednesday night after she was done or wait until Thursday morning to avoid driving brain-fried and in the dark. Suddenly a storm enters the forecast and brutal winds were expected so we all decided probably would be safest to wait until Thursday. As my family often hears me say, I HATE WIND. Right guys!? And it was brutally windy and 75 degrees in the middle of December in Kansas. I had to bring in all of my Christmas planters, wreaths, anything that wasn’t super secure, and hope for the best. Is the world coming to an end because, last I checked, I’ve never experienced these weird weather patterns. Covid is back on the rise with variants, kids are sick at school, games are canceling left and right, teachers are totally exhausted and there are not enough subs, arguing over wearing masks and vaccinations…basically the world seems to be in total disarray. Aside from all that, I was super excited to have Morgan back in the house for a decent period of time so we press on!

Morgan and Holly are at the Library on campus studying their little hearts out for Calc. And let’s just be very clear here, these girls have struggled with this class all semester. It’s a beast.

They were handing out ice cream in the library for students studying – so cute. I love K-State. It’s a great place 🙂

Soon after I receive this adorable picture and they’ve apparently made some significant breakthroughs in their studying, I receive a text from her saying there are reports of tornados near campus and they need to pack up and go to the basement of the Library. So, what do they do? Of course they decide to make a run for it to the dorm which is not super close. Apparently their brains are fried from Calc or maybe an ice cream brain freeze? Why would they do that!? Soon I get another call that they are in the basement of the dorm and she doesn’t have a charger for her computer or phone and it’s about to die. GREAT. Feeling really at ease at this point.

Finally she is able to get back to her room and Ava, her roommate, has already been home a week with the Flu. And Morgan’s final has now been canceled/postponed. WHAT? This has to be a first. Final exams are being canceled due to tornados…in December!? There are so many questions about this and not a lot of answers are coming in.

Students are scrambling around trying to figure out what to do with their previous travel arrangements because it’s clear they will need to take the exam the next day, either online, or in person. The teachers are being flooded with emails and the University is trying to assemble a plan.

These are some of the emails Morgan is receiving from her teacher:

Some of the damage near campus (Kappa Delta sorority house)

That same evening, she STILL doesn’t know when she is supposed to take this final. You know when you’re just ready to take the exam, be done, and go home? That was her. Her car was packed and dorm room was prepared for winter break. Instead, she’s just waiting in her room, alone, trying to figure out what to do. Uncle John to the rescue – he picked her up and took her to their house to get some rest and not have to drive in the storm. No power.

By noon on Thursday, they still don’t know what they are to do. Do they stay on campus? Do they go home? What’s the plan? I’m canceling a 1pm appointment at home that Morgan had for sure.

So to make a long story shorter, Morgan elected not to take the final because, well, her grade was between a B and a C and test-taking is not her strong suit. What a terrible position to be in. Take the exam and potentially improve your grade, or potentially make it worse, or don’t take it at all and never know the outcome. Just add it to the list of weirdness going on right now.

By the time I arrived home with my middle schoolers, Morgan is home, in the office with Brian, and they are on the phone with Department head of Mathematics at K-State. All students are panicked if they should take the final (video proctored online), or just not take it and live with their grade. Her Professor can’t possibly respond to the hundreds of emails he’s getting about how this could impact their grades and he’s had a pre-scheduled appointment requiring dilation of his eyes too so he can’t even read or respond to them anyway. MESS.

She opted out of taking the final, we don’t know if she’s getting a B or C in this class but we are happy she’s home safe and we are prepping for the holidays! We are honoring our two precious loved ones we lost in 2021 and attempting their recipes and doing lots of other little gift exchanges with friends and teams and we might get to our cookie decorating and gingerbread houses. A little bit of basketball has been going on as well and we are enjoying watching without masks this year and I’m sure Jake is loving that he doesn’t have to play in one! Cheers to the season and to the kids home with their families for the holidays!