If I have to write ONE MORE stinking essay about why I
shouldn’t have to pay thousands of dollars to go to college…
It would be easier if I could just reuse the same essay. But
each college and scholarship wants something subtly different, just enough so
that I have an entire folder on my computer with about 20 essays in it. And yet
they all want the same thing: leadership. Readers who know me know that I am
not a leader. And that just seemed to be fine and dandy until we started
looking at scholarship opportunities that all wanted the overachievers who have
done everything. Literally up until you start looking at college, EVERYONE
emphasizes teamwork more than anything. But these guys seem to want everyone to
be leaders. Every form has a space for times you’ve been a leader or held some
sort of office like student president. If everyone was a leader, there would be
no one left for them to lead, and where would that leave us? A bunch of
obstinate, independent, overachieving people with high aspirations trying to
get others to follow them. When a group
has too many leaders, and those leaders collide, heads will roll. It’s not
pretty, and stuff definitely does not
get done.
Maybe there could be a scholarship that rewards
followership. When have you trusted someone to get you to the right place? What
groups do you work or have you worked well in? It would show them how well
students would get along at their college, since once you get there they
probably value teamwork as much as they ever have.