I had the pleasure of meeting a woman for drinks last week who I’d struck up a friendship with over some work-related e-mail banter.
We exchanged descriptions of ourselves so we wouldn’t spend too long awkwardly lurking in search of each other. I joked that I’d be holding a single yellow rose.
I was familiar with my companion’s bio after having her write something for CultureMap, and I knew she had worked for the British Consulate for a good 30 years before retiring to write a family memoir. I didn’t mention that I’d been working less than a year, having just graduated last May.
She seemed only slightly surprised by my youth. It didn’t bother me; I’ve always loved hanging with the grown-ups.
As a kid, my parents could count on finding me, the morning after a sleepover, not hiding out somewhere to prolong my visit, but posted up at the big people table having breakfast with the adults. It was not uncommon to find me with a cup of coffee.
My mother’s three best friends double as godmothers for my two sisters and myself. Two are law professors, the other is a Duke graduate with a law degree. None of them knew quite how to address children, as none of them have any. So they talked to us like little contemporaries, which I have always thought was probably beneficial.
And I’ve always maintained relationships with my friends’ parents independent of my alliance with their kids. In high school, when one friend would ditch dinner to hang out with her boyfriend, I often stayed. I wasn’t one to turn down the food, sure, but I found the company more enticing.
These slight elders always had better stories, better liquor and the best advice.
Now at the office, I’m one of a trifecta of twenty-something females referred to as “the girls.” I still relish the atmosphere of our generationally diverse office, being near people who’ve done and seen so much.
But I’ve recently forged friendships with some grown folk I wasn’t anticipating. I remember, almost to the moment, when I realized that my parents weren’t just my parents. They were people who’d been alive and had history before my debut in this world, and who (gasp!) might manage to still exist even if I didn’t.
I realized they were only human. That they had stories and context to offer my life, and that it might behoove me to get to know them.
The single best thing about moving back home — more than the weather, the nominal rent (thanks, Mom) or the slightly stronger job market — has been getting to know my parents.
It’s not the same as when I showed up over winter break in college, dropped my laundry and was out the door to play catch-up with friends. “Family time” is no longer a holiday obligation.
My dad and I went years without speaking unless out of necessity. There was a time we had trouble standing in the same room. These days, we meet for happy hour. I’ve been embraced by his motley crew of friends and golfing buddies — they call me “Junior Mint” — and he feigns irritation when his party invites are addressed to “Jim and Caroline.” (He acts as if he used to have at least the option of securing a date.)
And my mom, who was always first and foremost my caretaker, is now a friend whose time I request instead of demand, because she’s worldly and smart and funnier than I remembered. The first time she invited me to come with her to Anderson Fair, I got the same cool-kid feeling I did in high school when we went to house parties at the popular kids’. I just like hanging out with her; she talks shit better than anyone I know.
I tried as hard as I could to find any excuse not to come back to Houston. It’s been almost a year, and it might be time to start looking for a place.
Now I’m looking for excuses to stay.
top tier education
2 Houston high schools rank among America's top 100 in 2024, says U.S. News
Two Houston high schools are dominating U.S. News and World Report's prestigious annual list of the country's best public high schools.
The 2024 rankings from U.S. News, released April 23, put Houston ISD’s Carnegie Vanguard High School at No. 31 nationally (up from No. 35 last year and No. 40 in 2022) among the country’s best high schools. The school also ranks No. 248 nationally among the best STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) high schools and No. 12 among the best magnet high schools.
Meanwhile, DeBakey High School for Health Professions ranks No. 70 nationally among the best high schools (down from No. 66 last year and No. 50 in 2022) and No. 19 among best magnet high schools. DeBakey ranked No. 426 nationally among best STEM high schools.
Topping the national list for 2024 is the BASIS Peoria Charter School in Peoria, Arizona.
Each year, U.S. News evaluates about 18,000 high schools on six factors: college readiness, reading and math proficiency, reading and math performance, underserved student performance, college curriculum breadth, and graduation rates.
“The 2024 Best High Schools rankings offer a starting point for parents to understand a school’s academic performance, whether it’s a prospective school or one that their child is already attending,” said LaMont Jones, Ed.D., the managing editor of education at U.S. News, in a release. “Accessible data on our high schools can empower families across the country as they navigate today’s educational environment and plan for the future.”
Elsewhere in Texas
Around the state, these Texas high schools also made it into the top 100 nationally:
- Dallas ISD's The School for the Talented and Gifted, No. 6 (unchanged from last year). No. 21 nationally among the best STEM high schools, and No. 3 among the best magnet high schools.
- Dallas ISD's Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School, No. 23 (down from No. 18 last year) and No. 10 nationally among the best magnet high schools.
- Dallas ISD's Science and Engineering Magnet School, No. 29 nationally among the best high schools (down from No. 23 last year), No. 37 nationally among the best STEM high schools, and No. 11 nationally among the best magnet high schools.
- Grand Prairie ISD's Collegiate Institute, No. 30 (up from No. 188 last year). No. 6 nationally among best charter high schools.
- Austin ISD’s Liberal Arts and Science Academy, No. 38 (down from No. 32 last year and No. 34 in 2022). No. 34 nationally among the best STEM high schools.
- BASIS San Antonio - Shavano Campus, No. 64 (up from No. 81 last year and No. 77 in 2022). No. 76 nationally among the best STEM high schools and No. 13 nationally among the best charter high schools.
- Brownsville ISD's Early College High School, No. 71 (up from No. 229 last year).
- Dallas ISD’s Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet, No. 85 (up from No. 93 last year and No. 48 in 2022) . No. 21 nationally among the best magnet high schools.
When broken down just to Texas schools, Houston's Carnegie Vanguard High School (No. 5) and DeBakey High School for Health Professions (No. 8) are both in the top 10 best-rated public high schools in Texas this year, U.S. News says.
Other Houston-area schools that rank among Texas' 100 best are:
- No. 24 – Kinder High School for Performing and Visual Arts, Houston ISD
- No. 25 – Challenge Early College High School, Houston ISD
- No. 29 – Young Women's College Prep Academy, Houston ISD
- No. 32 – Eastwood Academy, Houston ISD
- No. 37 – Harmony School of Innovation - Katy, Katy
- No. 40 – Kerr High School, Alief ISD, Houston
- No. 43 – Houston Academy for International Studies, Houston ISD
- No. 47 – East Early College High School, Houston ISD
- No. 59 – Clear Horizons Early College High School, Clear Creek ISD, Houston
- No. 61 – Seven Lakes High School, Katy ISD
- No. 63 – Early College Academy at Southridge, Spring ISD, Houston
- No. 68 – KIPP Houston High School, Houston
- No. 70 – North Houston Early College High School, Houston ISD
- No. 71 – Victory Early College High School, Aldine ISD, Houston
- No. 75 – Tompkins High School, Katy ISD
- No. 76 – Clements High School, Fort Bend ISD, Sugar Land
- No. 82 – Sharpstown International School, Houston ISD
- No. 85 – Tomball Star Academy, Tomball ISD
- No. 89 – Westchester Academy for International Studies, Spring Branch ISD, Houston
- No. 95 – Harmony School of Innovation - Sugar Land, Sugar Land
- No. 97 – Harmony School of Discovery - Houston, Houston
- No. 98 – Energy Institute High School, Houston ISD