News You Can Use...
IF YOU'RE A LATE BLOOMER
by Dodge Johnson, Educational Consultant
from his Philadelphia Inquirer Column "Countdown to College"
If you're a late bloomer, can you convince colleges you're about to flower?
Why not? Admissions people know that some who blossom early will fade early. That's why top colleges often reject students who join everything but contribute nothing, who hold glitzy student offices but don't lead, who get good grades but take cream-puff courses or are mere grade-grubbers.
They know too that others who spend high school years sinking strong roots not only flourish in the rich soil of a good college but also bloom again and again in adult life.
That's why colleges look for promise and not just glamour. That's why they want students who are growing intellectually, who are reaching for the light.
If growing is natural, why do some teenagers major in hanging out or vegetate as couch potatoes? Why do some have a zest for learning, for doing, while others sit on the sidelines? The reasons are personal, but certain themes seem to recur.
Some mature more slowly. For them it may make sense to spend a postgraduate year somewhere building study skills - or postpone college for experiences that will build self-discipline and self-reliance. It's worth knowing that colleges often have a special fondness for those who learned the hard way - provided, of course, they did indeed learn.
Others fail to grasp that the record of academics and activities they compile in high school will determine choices later. It's easy to see why. Graduation seems light years away. And besides, if promotion from Grade 10 to Grade 11 to Grade 12 is automatic, why should "promotion" to a good college be any different?
Still others are at war with their families. When exasperated parents can't seem to get at root causes of poor grades, they attack things they can get at. They stop allowances, impound car keys, or maybe offer a bribe - $50 for an A, a Boxter if they graduate with honors.
Thus, it's understandable that, right or wrong, kids sometimes conclude parents measure their worth in terms of grades. And all of a sudden, the issue isn't school but love.
Or, right or wrong, they conclude that parents' dreams of 'college' or the 'right college' are ultimately selfish. The future becomes their parents' instead of their own. Building for it becomes servitude instead of opportunity. And the fear that they might not measure up outweighs the joy of growing.
So students balk, blow up, dig foxholes. And the need to assert may be so strong that they will cheerfully tear up their ticket to the very independence they hunger for.
But causes are ultimately irrelevant.
If you're sixteen, when people call you a 'late bloomer,' it's usually a euphemism for 'permanently asleep.' You may know you're dormant and not dead. But the world will simply shrug and move on. And so will colleges.
So, how do you find the desire and the will to grow, to reach for the light? There are no patent-medicine solutions. But two things may help.
First, know that blooming comes from within. If parents or teachers could make you bloom, they would have found a way long ago. Blooming happens spontaneously. Or it will happen because you resolve to make it happen.
Second, the will and energy will be there if you'll do just one thing - take charge. It's that simple and that hard. But once you have taken up the reins of your life and felt the power, chances are good you'll never want to put them down.
How can you use these principles to become the kind of person colleges want? Here are some hints to help you on your way.
Recognize what colleges know - that real leadership is a knack for making things 'go.' It's simpler than most people think, and it's all practice in taking charge:
- Find out what needs doing and you're 'enterprising.'
- Get things done and you're 'effective.'
- Recruit friends to help and you have 'executive potential.'
- Stand up for common sense and you're 'decisive.'
- Force things to start on time and you're 'tough-minded.'
Leadership doesn't have to be in school. Colleges will be impressed by resourcefulness in a part-time job or energies volunteered in a good cause.
Recognize that colleges value initiative because campuses run largely on student energy. So if you play the cello, it's good if you practice, great if you're in the school orchestra, terrific if you form a string quartet and give a concert now and then, and fabulous if you're first chair in All-State.
If you and your family have been at war, recognize not only that it's time to end hostilities but also that you can make peace on your terms.
If you've been closed-mouthed about activities, be generous in sharing and reap an astonished family's pride in your success.
If you find it hard to stay on track, ask for their help in ways you want it. For example, if you know you need the discipline of making regular progress reports, grin and ask if they will be willing to receive them from you on a schedule you set up. Have smelling salts handy.
Obviously, colleges won't simply take your word that you're a 'new you.' But clear progress and testimony from delighted teachers will attract attention. Interview if you can, and be up front about where you were and where you're headed. You'll command respect.
Tough? Yes, very - and no, not really. Growing means carving new habits of mind and grooves of behavior. But it also means the fire of new possibilities and the vision of new dreams.
Overcoming inertia takes energy. And some not-yet-bloomers remain 'at rest' because they're afraid they might fail. They don't try, so they can't succeed. They fear 'fear itself', as Franklin Roosevelt put it.
But once they feel the thrill of momentum, being 'at rest' becomes unthinkable. The world is too interesting and they're hooked on discovery. Others depend on them and they love being needed. Life is simply too much fun.
So, if you're ready to bloom, what do you do when there's no bottle labeled 'drink me' like the ones Alice found in Wonderland? You must look within. You must reach inside and, as the French say, gather your courage with both hands and stretch for the light.
Don't worry, you won't lose your balance - and the growing will take care of itself.
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