@Former-Member
My S2 failed Yr 11, and just scraped it through Yr 12, didn't achieve a pass in English and did a bridging course into uni .... took a gap year before starting ... and he pulled out of that course after two years.
He has just spent 6 months doing short-term art courses at a local art centre, and heard today that he has been accepted back into uni to do graphic and digital design .... what he wanted to do in the first place, but WH had talked him into doing something that he considered more grounded (control issues .... the e.d. had taken control of him by then)
His troubles started in Yr 10 when he struggled with the personalities of his English and Art teachers .... formerly his two favourite subjects ....
Visual-spatial kids are highly intuitive and empathetic, so the nature and attitudes of their teachers has huge impact. That has been there for all our kids, but thankfully we have encountered few teachers like that ... S2's art teacher failed their whole class by the end of Yr 12, and there were some highly talented kids in that lot .... it's so sad when power games dominate the teacher-class dynamics !! And so damaging.
Never mind .... it can all translate into character-building if you are not afraid to yell "plot twist !!" and change direction ....
It might be exciting to see where life is taking your S4 .... he will be cast in his own mould .... not necessarily much like his brothers' ... but he will have his own gifts and talents. Try to relax and give him time to grow into himself.
There is a big difference in maturity and outlook between my oldest two and my youngest two .... WH was far more absent from the childhoods of the older ones, and fell ill through a significant part of the younger two's adolescence .... other influences have been here too, like S1 going out with a very insular girl for four years - we weren't recognising early signs of mi although now I can recognise SH scars - and she impacted the sibling dynamic big-time .... still does ... and has hurt S1 badly ....
All part of our story .... just have to keep working with it with love and integrity as best we can. It's a journey taking us somewhere.
Mostly I am okay with it, even though I know a lot of it is not okay yet, if that makes sense.
💜🌷💜
