Letting Go of the Safety Net: A First Flight, New Beginnings, and the Journey Toward College Readiness
Soon, many students will take their first real step away from home.
The first plane ride.
The first night in a dorm.
The first time making decisions without someone nearby to confirm they’re right.
For many, it’s exhilarating.
For others, terrifying.
For most—both.
I vividly remember July 1988, gripping my father’s hand as if it were the only thing tethering me to life itself. I was boarding a plane headed to Loyola University’s Lagniappe—a word I didn’t yet understand that translates to “a little something extra.” What I didn’t know was that extra would include independence, identity, answers, and a new direction.
“You’ll be fine,” my father reassured.
“It’s going to be great.”
I sobbed anyway because reassurance doesn’t always calm a nervous system built for survival.
A Slow Start, A Long Journey
Latin families are often labeled as protective. Latin families with a daughter facing medical challenges—and not telling her those challenges have names—take protection to an entire art form.
Walking—delayed.
Tying shoes—delayed.
Driving—delayed.
But getting out into the world to discover what life had planned?
Bring. It. On.
Loyola’s campus, only four city blocks, felt like a sprawling metropolis in those pre-GPS days. If there was a way to get lost, I found it. More than once, I ended up at the foot of “Touchdown Jesus,” looking up and asking:
“Okay, Lord… I’m here. Now what?”
I was panic-stricken. But I was also undeterred.
That orientation began shaping a journey I didn’t yet understand—a journey that would help me uncover not only my academic path, but the late-discovered neurodivergence that finally explained why everything had always taken a little longer.
College-Ready vs. College-Capable
If you’ve read anything about me or Admissions Untangled, you know this truth:
???? I was not college-ready.
???? I was not college-capable.
???? But I was determined.
I didn’t arrive knowing how to study, manage time, self-advocate, or navigate transitions. I didn’t have a roadmap or a name for my challenges. I had to figure it out—through the wrong majors, the wrong jobs, the dismissive comments from people who assumed the struggle was laziness or lack of effort.
It wasn’t.
And it isn’t—for your child either.
The world may not always understand neurodivergence. But those challenges do not diminish potential. They shape it. They sharpen character. They build resilience.
As they say in New Orleans, “Laissez les bons temps rouler” — let the good times roll.
There is a path meant for everyone. The timeline may look different. The milestones may come late. But late is not less.
Helping Families Navigate the Unknown
Parents often tell me they worry their teen “isn’t ready.”
Or that they fear throwing them into a world too big, too fast.
I get it—I lived it.
Orientation, transition, independence—none of this should be left to chance.
And no family should navigate the process alone.
Let Admissions Untangled help your student find the college where they can learn, grow, struggle safely, self-discover authentically, and ultimately—thrive.
Because every student deserves their “lagniappe”—their little something extra.
