One in a (Half) Million

I'm a fortunate grandmother of four grandsons and five grand-daughters. (And two great-grandsons.) One of my granddaughters was born on my 51st birthday and one of my granddaughters was named for me.
Kathryn Irene Fleming is third from the left in the back row of this picture. (She is also the third born of my granddaughters.)
The picture is of the cast of the school play she was in last month - just one of her extra-curricular activities. She's also an excellent student academically, and works several hours a week as an aide in a care center.


The activity which perhaps takes up most of her time, though, is being a member of the Central Iowa Division of the US Naval Sea Cadet Corps which she joined several years ago. I don't know what motivated her to join, but she took to it like a duck to water. She has participated in and passed so many of their training programs, I can't remember them all. She is also applying for their International Exchange Program.

Kathryn's current rank is PO2 - Petty Officer Second Class. Her most recent achievement is the highest to date and perhaps the most scary. Kathryn is one of 2,250 high school seniors (coming school year) selected to attend one of three Summer Seminars at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. If I understand correctly, there were 511,639 applicants which makes her acceptance phenomenal. (And makes me very proud and happy for her.)
http://usna.edu/admissions/nass.htm will give you an idea of what awaits her during her six days next month. Note that the summer seminar application is automatically her application for the US Naval Academy's Class of 2015. I don't know for certain if being accepted to Summer Seminar means she is also accepted as a member of the Class of 2015, but that is my understanding.

I can't even imagine being able to do what she is going to do next month. Just getting on an airplane alone at (almost) age 17 would be scary enough. (My first plane trip at age 24 frightened me and I didn't have to change planes at O'Hare.)

What an opportunity Kathryn has achieved for herself! Her academic standing alone will guarantee her acceptance at many colleges and universities. My hope is that she will love Annapolis and want to go there - that it will be her start to an amazing career.

From my end of the continuum, it is so easy to give advice - so easy to say, "You have this wonderful opportunity. Don't give it up because you are afraid, or because you fall in love with some boy. There's plenty of time for that later."

Whatever she decides, the important thing is that it is right for her. And that she knows how proud I am of her and how much I will always love her. (As well as how much I would love to go see her in Annapolis.)