Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 6

Best Amazon Prime Day EARLY Deals (2025)

We are a reader-supported site and receive compensation from purchases made through these links. See more about our Privacy and Affiliate policies  here

If you’re shopping for your off-to-college student, Amazon Prime Day is a great way to purchase true dorm essentials and popular extras at a discount. Luckily, we’ve done the legwork for you and researched and selected the best Amazon Prime Day deals, so you can save on the bedding, storage, study supplies, tech, and more that your student ne...

‘Valedictorians at the Gate:’ How to Write a Winning Personal Essay

After the recommendations have been requested, after the testing has been completed, after one has purchased a blue and orange Go Hornets mug at the Kalamazoo bookstore, it’s time to sit down with one’s thoughts. It’s time to consider one’s biggest “challenge, setback, or failure.” (Alas, the ol’ personal failure question is usually one of the many Common Application prompts.) It’s time to remember the correct usage of “its” and “it’s.” And then it’s time to start writing the personal statement....

How to Save Time And Money Shopping for College (2025)

We are a reader-supported site and receive compensation from purchases made through these links. See more about our Privacy and Affiliate policies here

Look at your kid, your actual real kid. What is important to them? Does feeling “at home” impact their happiness? Are they a terrible sleeper who needs a comfortable bed? Are they indifferent to lots of clothing so the dresser provided is adequate? Are they bringing expensive musical equipment that will need to be protected?

Here ...

I Let Go of My Son’s 529 Account Even Though It Was Hard to Do

“What is he even thinking?”

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve uttered this question since our son, Asher, left for college. Asher is responsible for my new meditation practice and at least half of my gray hairs. But I’ve been told over and over by trusted friends he is a normal college kid having a normal college experience.

Our son’s college experience is his to live, his mistakes are his to make, and his 529 account is our gift to him. (Shutterstofck Ahmet Cigsar)

Asher’s college li...

I Should Have Let My Son Fail Sooner and He Agrees

“The one thing I wish my mom had done was let me fail.”

Hearing those words from my son, a high school senior, was very jarring. He told me about a conversation with a friend’s moms. His friend’s younger brother was struggling with many of the same things my son had struggled with in early high school – mental health, connecting socially, performing below his academic capacity and being combative at home.

(I was afraid to let my son fail. Shutterstock Monkey Business Images)

I’m not su...

A Request to my Senior- Promise Me These Seven Things

As the season of your high school years comes to a close, I can’t help but wonder what memories will linger for you in these winds of change. For the past eighteen years, time has seemed to pass slowly, and yet all at once, and now the future is all yours to unfold.

I asked my son to promise me these 7 things. (Photo courtesy of Amy Keyes)As you take these final steps of childhood promise me these things1. Promise me you will always remember

Remember the moments that seemed insign...

23 Best Father’s Day Gifts for the Dads In Your Life

We are a reader-supported site and receive compensation from purchases made through these links. See more about our Privacy and Affiliate policies here

I am slightly biased since I am a dad, but I think that buying awesome Father’s Day gifts is so much fun nowadays. This is because dads are diverse and interesting, meaning that you’ll be presented with far more than golfing and grilling gifts, although those are great too if the dad in your life loves to get in a round or relishes his role as a...

The Weight of Our Words: What I No Longer Tell My Kids About Their Future

We need to choose our words carefully—especially the ones we offer our children. I used to think I was being supportive, even encouraging, when I told my sons things like, “You’re going to do great things,” or “You’re going places, kid.”

Those words came from love. From the belief in who they are and what they’re capable of. But in hindsight, I see that it may have been carelessness, not thoughtlessness, that led me to contribute to a culture of quiet, crushing expectations.

Don’t crush your kid...

Mom of Teens and Teacher: School Is the Best Kind of Chaos for Me

Every day, when I get home from work, I stop into my husband’s home office to say hi. It’s organized. It’s tidy. It’s calm. It’s quiet. The smell of vanilla gently wafts from the air diffuser that sits in the corner plug. It is a space and place that is just for him.

It is the complete and total opposite of where I spend my days. As a middle school teacher, I am well aware that I choose to live my days with pubescent, hormonal beings. It is a choice I love, and that I’ m proud of, and also so...

Does Your Teen Just Want to Be Ordinary? Cool, Mine Too

In today’s world, there’s an overwhelming emphasis on excellence. We love the star athletes, the performers, the innovative thinkers.

Schools and universities highlight the extraordinary students, celebrating the ones poised to leave a lasting legacy. And rightly so. Their stories are inspiring.

Le’t reassure our students that “ordinary” aspirations are enough. (Shutterstock antoniodiaz)

But in all the gushing over innovators and high achievers, what are we telling the rest of the
student...