[nagdu] Lots of Questions

[Pickrell, Rebecca M (TASC)]

        And it sounds like you've thought this out. I think you'll do finee. Your plan and logic is rational.
As for the junior v. senior year, being a junior is harder accademically, being a senior is harder emotionally. Some of your classmates may get married. If it hasn't happened already, one will probably die.  One will probably have a baby.  One will be involved ina crime that lands him or her in jail.  It will certainly be the last time you see all of these people in the same place.  You will probably see a teacher or school official do something very human.  All this stuff will give you a lot to think about.
Also, you will find that being eighteen in high school and being eighteen after high school are very different. It's like people think "high school equals kid" but when you graduate, you are suddenly an adult.

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of lizzy
Sent: Friday, August 31, 2012 11:23 AM
To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Lots of Questions

Hi Rebecca,
I will answer your questions, but first I have a question for
you.  In your post about high school students and guide dogs, you
said that there are some things that are just harder with a dog.
What specifically are these things? I just want to know so I can
expect certain things to be harder than others.
Answers:
Q: My question to you is how you think a dog will benefit you and
why do you want one now?
A: In the extensive research that I've done about guide dogs, it
seems that it takes about a year to become completely comfortable
and form a harmonious relationship with your dog.  I would like
for this time period to be in high school.  I know the school and
streets around it like the back of my hand.  I have a small city
and a larger city near my house, there are lots of streets
without sidewalks in the area surrounding me.  I plan on working
the dog in all of these places so that it will keep its training.
The colleges I plan on attending are top tier and challenging, I
will be learning tough material in school, how to live on my own
and most people say that the friends you make freshman year are
(for the most part) the ones you will have for your college
career.  This is a lot deal with so I would like to at least have
a stable relationship with my dog guide.  Another thing is that I
know majority of the teachers and students in my school, not sure
if this makes sense but I will kind of be practicing my advocacy
on them.  I will be figuring out what works for me and my dog.
How I should explain leash corrections, how I should answer
questions, when I should leave class (during period changes), how
I should plan our schedule etc.  I will be taking my senior year
to iron out most of the wrinkles dog teams have, so that in
college we are pretty much set.  I am not saying that getting a
dog in high school will make everything perfect for college, I
just want to make it easier.
Comment: Five ap courses is a lot.
A: I never said that I was certainly taking five AP's, I was
asking if anyone has done it with a dog and if it is realistic.
I am taking three this year with all other classes being honors.
I am prepping for next year now, I am seeing how much free time I
have left so that I will know what kind of course load to take
with the dog.
Comment: So is being a senior in high school, you have prom, you
may even be able to vote and give blood if you are old enough.
A: No, everyone says that being a junior is much, much, much
harder than being a senior.  I will also have prom this year so
will know how to handle that aspect.  And yes, I will be old
enough to vote and give blood.  People do this all the time with
their guide dogs...  In the case of giving blood, they would
choose to go without the dog but still...  The dog does not need
to come EVERYWHERE with me, and no I will not be leaving it in
the house all the time, only in cases such as prom.
Comment: You'll be in a period of your life where you won't
really be regarded as an adult by anybody which means you'll
probably have other adults telling you how to manage your dog.
How will you manage that? Do you want to manage it?
A: I do plan on going to an in-service day before school starts
just so I have most of the teachers helping rather than hurting
the team.  In my experience so far, I have been regarded as a
young adult due to my maturity, level of responsibility, and the
fact that I am more than willing to advocate for myself.  Even
when I am an adult there will be people trying to tell me how to
manage my dog.  There are always people trying to tell me how to
do things, but do I just bow down and listen? No, of course not!
Once I have graduated from a guide dog school, it means that the
experts trust me to take care of and work with my dog; so I don't
care about what people at my school/job/volunteer facility say.
I will explain why I do what I do, teach them about a guide dog
team and give them information so that they can do some research
of their own.  But that's really all a handler can do.  Correct
me if I'm wrong, is there more that I can do? But after I have
done everything, I will just ignore them and know that I'm not
doing anything wrong and that it is for the improvement of the
team.  Everyone thinks that they are an expert on subjects that
they know nothing about; what can you do.  In my opinion, high
school is a time where I can learn how to deal with these people.
I will be stressed out enough in college, so hopefully I can have
the speech down by then.
Comment: My advice would be to focus on being a senior in high
school.  Do really well in your classes.  Enjoy prom and
graduation.  If you do senior ditch day, enjoy that.
A: Thanks for the advice.  I will enjoy all of these things, with
my dog.  Well except for prom, I don't think it would have fun
there.
Comment: Get into a good college or figure out what you'll do
after high school.
A: Working on getting into a good college, I have been for the
past eleven years.  I have already visited Princeton in my
sophomore year.  I plan on visiting Georgetown, Bryn Mawr and
hopefully Tufts this year.  I'm not set on what I will do with
the rest of my life but I'm thinking a major in either political
science or international relations and a minor in foreign
language or journalism.  I have been researching colleges since
the eighth grade and have had an idea of what to do since the
fifth.
Comment: The guide dog schools aren't going anywhere.  You will
only be a senior once.
A: Aww, thanks for the advice! It really is much appreciated, but
I am a deep thinker and have pondered all of these questions
before.  I know that getting a guide dog in high school is for
me.  I wouldn't sign up for something I couldn't handle.  I have
a great support system, from my friends, the administration and
the teachers.  I do not believe in peer pressure, and I do not
believe that adults are smarter than children, which will help me
a lot in having a dog at a young age.
Thanks again!
Lizzy

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