It’s that time of year again. Holiday shopping, wrapping, cooking, partying and family gatherings are over. We’ve begun to catch our breath, and we’re immersed in “Best of” and “Reviewing the Year” in all of the media. And, inevitably, we begin to turn our attention to 2023.

Some of us make resolutions. Fewer of us keep those resolutions. Some of us choose a Word of the Year (WOTY). Some of us just hope for the best, and some of us just move ahead – perhaps feeling the optimism of a fresh start or just continuing as usual. How we deal with the close of one year and the opening of another is a very personal thing.

Here at College Parent Central we’ve taken different approaches over the years (and yes, there have been a lot of years by now.) In the past we’ve offered some resolution suggestions for college parents and students. We’ve offered some suggestions for high school parents and students. We’ve thought about what makes a good resolution.  We’ve suggested activities for the new year, people to thank, and even offered a few “one-and-done” resolutions. Last year we suggested some options for the WOTY approach. There’s no shortage of plans that we can all make. You might enjoy going back and checking out some of our earlier suggestions.

This year we’re taking the WOTY approach one step further and suggesting a specific word both you and your student might adopt. The choice of this word is based on what so many of us are feeling, and also on what we’ve observed over the past year in the students we’ve worked with.

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It’s that time of year when just about everyone, every publication, organization and media outlet is doing a “Year in Review” or “Best Of.” Taking stock is often a good thing. Reflecting is always a good exercise before moving forward. Looking at how we’ve come to where we are often helps us set some goals and find our direction for the future.

So before we look ahead, make plans, make resolutions we probably won’t keep, or set goals for 2023, we’d like to take a moment to look back at 2022.

We invite you to take a few minutes to reflect with us, and to think about how you view your role as college parent. How have you grown into the role over the past year or how have you prepared for the role?  Where might you and your college student go next year?

We continue to grow

Numbers certainly don’t tell the whole story, but sometimes they’re a reasonable place to start.

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April 1. April Fool. The ideal day to start a new, crazy adventure.

Thirteen years ago, on April 1, 2009, College Parent Central was born.  It felt right. Launch something that seems as though it might be a good idea and see what happens. Who knows?

Now, on April 1, 2022, we’re proud to say that we still think it’s a good idea and we’re still here. Still growing. Still finding new and interesting ways to reach out to parents. Still providing information and support.

We’re celebrating our birthday!

When we began College Parent Central thirteen years ago, there wasn’t much of anything available to help college parents understand their role and how to support their student. There were a few books out there and a very few articles online. In the years since, we’ve been joined in this space by many websites, organizations and a host of books for parents and students. College parents matter and knowing how best to help your student can make a difference.

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It’s almost here. A new year. 2022.

In the past we’ve offered some resolution suggestions for college parents and students. We’ve offered some suggestions for high school parents and students. We’ve thought about what makes a good resolution.  We’ve suggested activities for the new year, people to thank, and even offered a few “one-and-done” resolutions. There’s no shortage of plans that we can all make.

This year we’re changing it up a bit and looking at the WOTY approach. Perhaps you’ve been doing this for years, or it may be new to you. With Word Of The Year you choose a single word as a reflection or mantra to guide you throughout the year. You use this word to help you focus and visualize a feeling, aspiration, or theme, (not a specific goal) and to provide motivation and help you channel your energy and resources throughout the year.

For many people this approach is more helpful than making several resolutions that may not last more than a few weeks. If you’ve ever found yourself in February with a list of stale resolutions, you know it can happen.

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Here at College Parent Central, we do a brief look back every December to review our year. Looking back gives us some perspective to think about our goals and plans for the New Year. Reflection is always a good exercise.

Last year, at the end of 2020, we all hoped that we were putting our difficult Covid lives behind us. Things have improved in many areas by now, but we appear to still be in the middle of pandemic uncertainties. It’s hard to say what ”normal” is these days.

But this year many of us will be able to spend time with families and be able to resume some of our favorite traditions. We hope this is true for you and your family.

We kept busy

Despite the difficulties of the past two years, 2021 was another busy year at College Parent Central.

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April 1. April Fool. The ideal day to start a new, crazy adventure.

Twelve years ago, on April 1, 2009, College Parent Central was born.  It felt right. Launch something that seems as though it might be a good idea and see what happens. Who knows?

Now, on April 1, 2021, we’re proud to say that we still think it’s a good idea and we’re still here. Still growing. Still finding new and interesting ways to reach out to parents. Still providing support.

We’re celebrating our birthday!

First things first

As we celebrate this year, the first and most important thing to say is thank you. We are grateful for the many parents, educators and counselors who have shared our information with others, who have provided us with helpful feedback, and who have taught us so much over the years.

Thank you.

You’ve kept us going. You have inspired us. You have taught us and let us know what matters to you.

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As we offer our year-in-review each year, I often say this is the time of year when we can’t decide whether to look backwards at the year that is just ending or to look ahead at the year about to begin.  This year, there is no contest. We’re all looking ahead to the future, to 2021, and to the hope for a better year for everyone.

2020 has been one of the most difficult years that most of us have ever faced. Some individuals have certainly faced tragedy of many kinds at other times in the past, but this year was tragic, frightening, and devastating in so many ways for so many of us.

Still, even with our focus clinging to the hope for a better 2021, we’d like to take a brief look at 2020 at College Parent Central. We’ve survived. We’re tremendously grateful for health. We’ve done what we can to reach out to help parents help their students through these difficult days.

The year of COVID

The COVID virus derailed everyone’s plans this year. We distanced, we stayed home, we worked remotely, we homeschooled, we learned to wear masks, we took up new hobbies, we baked sourdough, and we learned to cope with life — and death –  in new ways.

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When you do something once, it is interesting.  When you do it for the seventh year, there’s no denying the fact that it has become a tradition.

Right now, we’re in that time of year when we can’t quite decide whether to look backwards at the year that is just ending or to look ahead at the year about to begin. We probably need to do a little bit of both. Looking back gives us some perspective to look ahead and think about our goals and plans for the New Year. Reflection is always a good exercise.

We invite you to take a few minutes to reflect with us, and to think about how you view your role as college parent. Are you just starting your journey? Have you grown into the role over the past year? Where might you and your student go next year?

Something new this year!

The biggest development for College Parent Central this year is the launching of our new podcast! We’re so excited to be headed into 2020 sharing our observations, thoughts and suggestions through this new (to us) format! We hope we will be able to reach parents who may not have yet discovered the College Parent Central website.

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Cue the balloons and confetti!  We’re celebrating April Fool’s Day!

Well, actually, here at College Parent Central we’re celebrating our anniversary, or birthday, or blogiversary. We’ve officially made it to a decade.

It was April 1, 2009 (somehow April Fool’s Day seemed fitting) when we launched ourselves into the unknown and began College Parent Central.  We hoped that as parents accompanied their students on their college journey we might be able to help them understand their role and how best to support their students.  We thought we had a pretty good idea, but we didn’t know what to expect from this venture.

Ten years later we’re still going.  We still believe that there’s much for parents to learn and understand in order to help their students prepare for, transition to, and succeed in college. We’ve been pleased, over the last decade, to hear from so many parents who have found our information helpful.

If you’ve landed on College Parent Central, and you’re reading this, we hope that you find what you need here, too. Know that you are joining the over three million parents who have also visited College Parent Central over the years. We’re grateful for the many parents, educators, and counselors who have shared our information with others, who have provided helpful feedback, and who have taught us so much over the years.

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