Inspiration

Today I went to talk to a friend's daughter. She's starting high school, and is already worrying about how to get into college, especially since life complications will take up a lot of her time and energy. My plan was to reassure her, and maybe help direct her efforts to help her future applications.

She seemed reassured, but otherwise she didn't need anything from me. She's doing large volunteer projects involving baking at/for SafePlace, and has plans to expand it to include teaching baking to resident children. It's the kind of thing that has a greater impact than most high school students (and most others, for that matters), and it couldn't be better tailored to college applications. There was a lot else that impressed me that I'm not sure I can go into, but it was a good conversation.

All in all, it's the applications from kids like her that inspire me. It gets me part-raring to go, part-frustrated every spring when I read hundreds of these, and getting to talk to one face-to-face today had no frustrating component. It was a good day.