Great Gift Ideas to Give Your Teen Before University

You’ve watched them grow into the wonderful, talented young people they are today. They’ve worked hard at school, at their extra-curricular activities, and in their social lives. You couldn’t be prouder of them ~ of what they have achieved, of who they are, and of their dreams. Their birthday, or even their graduation, before they move out of their childhood bedrooms and into their university dorms is the perfect time to give them a great, useful gift that will help them succeed.

A New Laptop

tips and tricks, parenting 101, College, parenting tips, school, gift ideas

Your child will be going off to study at a prestigious university, and for that, they need a new laptop. They will be working long hours, writing down notes, essays, reports, and presentations. Your old, second-hand computer won’t cut it. They’ll need a fast and reliable machine that can handle all the programs they need at once. Their laptop will be their lifeline. They’ll use it to call you, to watch their favorite movies and TV programs, to work, to message their friends, and more.

Laptops are the salvation of the present age. Give them a great laptop for them to use throughout their time in university.

A Car

All parents hate watching their children move out, which is the personal reason why many parents opt to buy their child a car for university. Naturally, you would never waste your money on a new car – the value depreciates the second you drive it off the lot – but you can certainly get your child a used car. Not only will your young adult have the freedom and ability to travel to places near town, but they also have a means to support themselves. Do they need food, but it’s pouring rain? Now you no longer need to worry about them starving.

tips and tricks, parenting 101, College, parenting tips, school, gift ideas

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gt: class picture

This week’s topic for Girls Talk is all about class pictures. I am posting two of the many that I have, not because they are my favorite or that I look the most fab (that word is not yet in my vocabulary back then! :)) in them, but because they are the ones readily available to upload (these are actually photos that I was tagged in Facebook by my classmates!) as I have no means to scan other photos!

This ancient (yes I’ll say ancient, check out the school year! It has been that long?!) class photo was taken when I was in Grade 6! I actually started schooling at 6 that is why most of the kids in my class are a year older than I was. I was also a transferee to our local public school in Grade 4 when my parents decided to uproot the family from Taguig + settled for good in Bulacan. We are the first batch of graduates in this elementary school! There was actually a class reunion just this summer and the venue is just a stone’s throw away from our place, but I was not able to come since there is no one to leave my baby with. Pictured with us are our teacher/adviser Mr. Felipe dela Cruz + school principal, Mrs. Eduvijes Evangelista. Can you guess where I am in this photo? 😉

This other picture was taken when I was in Senior year in College with our class adviser, Sir Andrew. I also studied in Bulacan since at that time my mum is quite scared to let me study in Manila + I guess she has valid reasons 😉 Most of my classmates have a family of their own now with children a lot older than Jared. Our friend Beejay, who recently gave birth to her first baby, James, migrated to the States right after graduation + we haven’t seen here since then. Aileen passed on a couple of years back, succumbing to her lifelong battle with diabetes. Looking at this picture now does bring bittersweet memories! I’ve found true life long friends in College, some of whom even became my son’s godmothers. Just last week, one of my kumare went home for a 2-week vacation from Dubai + we had a chance to get together again ( I have yet to blog about it!). The next get together will be in December, if we get lucky!I’m glad I still get to see them, albeit quite seldom. In other cases, Facebook is really one great way of catching up with those I don’t see + those that are working abroad.  I guess it is easier to locate me in this picture since I distinctly resemble the latest “me”! Any guesses? 😉

Share your photos too + let’s try to locate each other in our photos, shall we?

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