Dear Diary,

Dear Diary,

Each year the staff at Beloit College in Wisconsin puts together a list to try to give the Faculty a sense of the mindset of the incoming freshmen. The class of 2012 has grown up in an era where computers and rapid communication are the norm, and colleges no longer trumpet the fact that residence halls are “wired” and equipped with the latest hardware. These students hardly notice the whether a telephones is in their rooms or not since they have seldom used landlines during their adolescence. Instead they live on their cell phones and communicate via texting.

Roommates, few of whom have ever shared a bedroom, have already checked out each other on Facebook where they have shared their most personal thoughts with the whole world - a multicultural, politically correct and “green” generation that has hardly noticed the threats to their privacy and never feared the Russians and the Warsaw Pact.

Some of the kids who visit our site, Buzzing Kids World, are just a few years away from entering college themselves. With this is mind, students entering college for the first time in Fall of '08 were generally born in 1990. For these students, Sammy Davis Jr., Jim Henson, Ryan White, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Freddy Krueger have always been dead. We thought you'd like to see this partial list of observations regarding the Class of 2012 (the complete list has 60):

• 1. Harry Potter could be a classmate, playing on their Quidditch team.
• 2. GPS satellite navigation systems have always been available.
• 3. Coke and Pepsi have always used recycled plastic bottles.
• 4. Gas stations have never fixed flats, but most serve cappuccino.
• 5. Girls in head scarves have always been part of the school fashion scene.
• 6. As a precursor to “whatever,” they have recognized that some people “just don’t get it.”
• 7. Universal Studios has always offered an alternative to Mickey in Orlando.
• 8. Haagen-Dazs ice cream has always come in quarts.
• 9. WWW has never stood for World Wide Wrestling.
• 10. Films have never been X rated, only NC-17.
• 11. We have always known that “All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.”
• 12. IBM has never made typewriters.
• 13. McDonald’s and Burger King have always used vegetable oil for cooking french fries.
• 14. They may have been given a Nintendo Game Boy to play with in the crib.
• 15. Macaulay Culkin has always been Home Alone.
• 16. Caller ID has always been available on phones.
• 17. Windows 3.0 operating system made IBM PCs user-friendly the year they were born.
• 18. 98.6 F or otherwise has always been confirmed in the ear.
• 19. There have always been charter schools.
• 20. Students always had Goosebumps.

Dear Diary,

Here's a heads-up. The holidays are over and it’s time to guide the kids in writing thank-you notes for the gifts he/she received. Keep a supply of cute kids note cards on hand or use a word processor or card-making program for a creative learning experience. Or pick up a box of card-making paper and envelopes at your local discount or office supply store. Most kids love to have a reason to make cards;  thank-you notes are the perfect opportunity. Thank-you notes from kids don't have to be formal.

Here’s an example:

If, after a reasonable amount of time, you still haven't gotten a thank you note from your grandchild for the holiday gift you sent him/her - here's how one grandfather solved it: He had special checks made up just for that purpose. On the back of the check just above the endorsement line he had this imprinted: Thank you, Grandfather, for the money. It is so very much appreciated. You're the greatest.
With love,
_______________________________
                  (Endorsement line)

And for the moms and dads out there – you're never too old to send a thank you note to Grandpa and Grandma either. In fact, one Grandma was determined to resolve this once and for all. She continually sent birthday and holiday cards and gifts to her son, but didn't get a thank you or any acknowledgement.

She finally sent her daughter-in-law (his wife) a sympathy card for the "loss of her husband" (who was Grandma's son, of course). Her message read: I haven't heard from John that he received the gift I sent him so I can only assume he has passed on to the other world. I wish you had told me; I would have attended the funeral. Needless to say, Grandma heard from John immediately after her daughter-in-law received the sympathy card.

Happy New Year, Dear Diary and everyone out there.