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This one’s for the kids, although educators and parents might want to listen in too.
You are AWESOME! True story. You were created with an incredible set of innate talents. Add to that all the skills you’ve acquired in your years of education, and… whoa… Look. Out. World.
Here’s the thing, though–college application season is harsh, and it stands between you and higher learning, which stands between you and said world.
This fall many of you are going smack your forehead on the doorframe of college admissions. Soon you will realize that getting into college seems to hinge on persuading the institutions of higher learning that you are a perfect fit. You have everything figured out. You have not only a planned major for college but also a plan for greatness that will bring renown to the university and untold riches into its coffers. All you need is four years there, the right post-graduate programs, the perfect professional training experiences, and life will be positively Edenic.
Having your life 100 percent figured out before you are legally old enough to vote is a lot of pressure. It’s gut-wrenching to camp out on the notion that life will suck if you get the whole college application thing wrong.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh! High stakes!!!!!
Stop it. I mean, if you need the catharsis… purge away all the emotion. Cry, belt out a primal scream, run to the gym and lift for an hour and run back home again. Do whatever you need to do to get it out, and then bring it in for a landing.
You see, here’s the secret: the college search and application process is not a gauntlet designed to prove your superiority or inferiority. It’s an opportunity for you to discover on a deeper level your innate talents and hone those skills you’ve worked on all your years of education. It’s not a quest to present yourself as the perfect addition to a university’s student body; it’s a chance to find a supportive environment that will help you discover the center of the Venn diagram of what you love, what you’re good at, and where the opportunities are.
I’m going to recommend a book for you. Actually, I’m going to recommend the first of three parts of a book. David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell. To get the full perspective, you should read the Introduction and all of Part One. But if you want a quick-hit story that may help you figure out where to concentrate your efforts, at least read the story of Caroline Sacks.
Then you can go back to adding schools and application fees and additional charges for sending standardized test scores and school-specific supplemental essays to your figurative college admissions cart. If you still need to.
You are one-of-a-kind, created with a set of abilities and aptitudes and perspectives and no one else on this planet has. Your contribution to life in this world is unique. Find a college where you have the grace to discover your passion, the blessings of success and failure, and the gift of growing, instead of simply achieving.
Always Learning HQ 