My virtual husband took that photo of our Julian when he was born. Isn’t he a beaut?
OK, I kid: Obviously that’s a fake bebé. You see, as part of one of my classes, Childhood & Adolescent Development, we were assigned to raise a virtual child (via MyVirtualChild, of course). As soon as I discovered that we’d have to do this I felt two things:
1) Hm… Busy work. :|
2) I’m going to do super well on this thing b/c I’m going to ask for my mom’s help and my kid’ll turn out wonderfully.
3) I really want a boy.
Here are the results:
1) Busy work: Aside from a few reports we had to fill out to assess what we learned from the assignment, this was probably some of the BEST busy work one* can get assigned. In fact, I was having so much fun that I finished the whole project (all 18 years’ worth) in just a couple of weeks. I repeat: This is a semester-long thing and I did it in a couple of weeks. A shout out to my fellow overachievers!!! Holla!!!
(*By “you,” I’m referring to those of you who like kids and who either can or can’t wait to have them.)
2) Help from the ‘rents: My mom, who was my principal helper, is THE. BOMB. Because I think I’ve been raised well and have grown up to realize that my parents are perhaps the best role models anyone could have, I just knew that they were the people to ask for help on the questions that’d stump me.** And I was right, because, well, I’ll just let the system do the talking. (See “Julian was…” below.)
(**In case you’ve never “played,” MyVirtualChild is a question-based project. Basically, you get presented with some scenario and select from a variety of choices as to how you’d respond or other possible outcomes. Your answers then determine the way your child behaves and acts later on. Because this is America where young adults’ brains magically stop developing at 18–and not at 25 like research has shown, you’re done “raising” your child when they’re 18. Wah wah…)
3) The boy: As an only child, I ALWAYS wanted a big brother***. Therefore, I really want to have a boy and then a girl when I have kids in real life laaater on. Which is why I was OVER THE MOON ECSTATIC that this project randomly assigned me a BOY–and then told me I had given birth to a GIRL when that boy was three! (>> Is that weird? Hahaha I don’t care!)
(***This Buzzfeed post highlights a few of the reasons why I always wanted an older brother.)
Finally, Julian was the best son EVER (and my parents, my virtual husband and I did a pretty dang good job raising him). Let me be a mom and brag about my boy****:
- He loved his little sister. And although he was scared of big dogs when he was a kid, he enjoyed the one our family got.
- He was attached to both my virtual husband and I–though more to me b/c he’s a sweetie :).
- He aced all his (AP and Honors) classes, and teachers liked him
- He spoke Spanish
- He was shy like his momma and never got into trouble
- He scored in the top 5-10% on all his SAT/ACT verbal subtests and the top 5-10% on all his SAT/ACT math and science tests–we required him to study but I bet he got these crazy smarts from his dad.
- He got into several colleges, including a couple of very selective institutions. (He ended up going to the “prestigious in-state institution” that had offered him a a scholarship.)
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| What a handsome boy! (And no, she won’t reset it!) |
Have you ever had to “raise” a fake “child”? (I guess by growing up in Colombia, I missed out on the whole “having to carry an egg/bag of flour/doll everywhere” thing, thank GOD, so this was right up my alley. But how about YOU? Tell me!!)
PS- FIND OUT MORE ABOUT (AND GET A COOL DISCOUNT AT) CALANTHA ORGANICS, THE COMPANY MY DAD AND I LAUNCHED :D on the guest post I wrote at The Charming Blog!