Thanksgiving Project 2012: Gary and Alex

I asked a bunch of my friends to brag on their kids' accomplishments.  This is a friend that I have mentioned before because I watch Gary like a hawk, taking notes and cheering for her girl, Alex.  I love her blog and the book she wrote!!  This is what she sent me to "showcase" her daughter's accomplishments and goals for this next year. 

Elise actually always asks if pictures of Alex are of her...so I guess she identifies with her as well...which is good, because Alex is an excellent role model:

Beyond high school

This past June, having earned all the credits necessary to graduate from High School, our 18 year daughter, Alex, did just that. She donned her white cap and gown and proudly accepted her diploma from Basalt High School. As with her older sister, Alex had a graduation party, graduation dinner, and got oodles of presents. And just like her sister, she needed daily reminders to write her thank you notes, some she did and some she has yet to do.

Alex applied to college and was waitlisted in a very competitive program that accepted only 1 in 10 students. She was awarded an interview however, and is currently on the waiting list for the fall of 2013. With this unexpected year off, Alex and I investigated “gap years” as sitting around watching television and playing video games is not our ideal way to spend a year. We talked about goals and dreams and put together the following plan:

Weight loss

Alex needs to lose weight. She has committed to monitoring her food intake and we are working on counting calories.  (lost nine pounds to date)

Work

We had a few work/internship opportunities come up over the summer and Alex decided to pursue one of these. She is working (paid) at the local pizza restaurant one day a week will increase her days in the near future.

Volunteer

Volunteering is very important to Alex, it makes her feel like she is contributing and she gains a lot of self-confidence. Alex is helping out at WindWalkers with two friends once a week.

Classes

Like her peers Alex is a life-long learner and has looked over the local community college class schedule. At this point she is interested in art and music classes, and steered away from academics.

Alex has settled in to this routine and is also training for an International Skiing Competition that takes place in January in South Korea. It is a full life, a wonderful life and a remarkable life.

Oh – did I forget to mention Alex has down syndrome? Must be because I keep forgetting….