Moms, dads, and high school seniors, I’m going to ask you to do something harder than almost anything you have ever done. It’s going to take extreme focus, dedication, and soul-searching, especially this time of year when admissions decisions are beginning to get rolled out and emotions are at an all-time high. However, it is a complete mindset shift when you commit fully to this idea.
Your daily goal? Focus on yourselves and your kids, and not on other students who are going through the process.
Don’t get me wrong, you can be happy for someone else who gets accepted to a college or gets a big scholarship. In fact, I hope you are! But the opposite—bad-mouthing and jealousy—are two of the ugliest things you can do. When you eliminate them from your life, you achieve beyond anything you ever thought could happen because you invest in yourself.
RELATED: A Message to Parents from a Parent Who Has Been Through It
Over the next few weeks and months, you are going to hear about a lot of students’ successes and failures. And it’s easy to take it personally when someone you know gets admitted and you don’t. You will hear about students getting “likely” letters or even acceptances. You will hear about students getting admitted that are seemingly “less qualified” than you. You can say that it’s because they are an athlete, an underrepresented minority, a legacy, a VIP, or just lucky. But the fact is that colleges want students for different reasons, and it’s impossible to please all.
