This is a later blooming sunflower along my fence, just peeking up and over right around the time everyone else has blazed in her full sun glory. But she is equally fabulous, and likely a wild little seed that was buried deeper than the rest, having to work harder to reach the surface. Earlier this month while I was attempting to take down a few smaller pine trees in my back yard, which is really a very steep hillside, I found a late bloomin’ lupine (pronounced loo-pin and I really like how that sounds, which is why I’m spelling bloomin that way). In our alpine topography, lupines generally reach peak the first week of June. They are summer’s first really bedazzled purple hues in the mountains, followed closely behind by the ever lovely daisy.

I’m knee deep in the best side work ever from July through November– college essay consulting– and could not be happier. Besides teaching 8, 9, and 10th graders English in my every day career, being witness to students finding the right words to say on their college applications is a real honor. People ask me about my process, and they ask me if AI is taking over the college application situation. Thankfully, I can say no, not in my world. At Lin-Wood, we are lucky enough to know most of our students really well and the way they write. But most of the kids I work with at night and on weekends now that school has been back in session SPEND TIME writing a lot of crap before we get to the nuggets of goodness. And I call it that. Sometimes we have to write through the crap in order to get to the story arc we are meant to share with the universe, or at least just an admissions office.

And I’ve been lucky to have students willing to do the work– if in fact, they are really ready for this next step. Hope you read that right– if THEY are ready for this next step. Some aren’t, and that is okay too— but then I need to inform the parents ever so gently (as sometimes they can be kind of a fragile bunch when kids are applying to college and there are deadlines and senior year chaos to muddle through on top of regular life business) that this is not their experience this time around. Their job is to show grace and trust the process and listen when there is talking and talk when there are questions asked of them.

I’m going to say that again for the kids in the back:

When one’s child is applying to college, one needs to:

1. Show grace for each other (teens and adults included).
2. Trust the process (even for the late bloomin’ lupines).
3. Listen when they are sharing anything with you.
4. Talk when there are questions asked of you.
5. Always remain positive when reviewing their work.
6. Frame critical statements about their writing as questions or “I wonder” statements.
7. When in doubt, reach out– to anyone, an email to your child’s guidance counselor
8. Let them figure out their story arc as they don’t have your 45-55 years of life experience to reflect on what might make a great topic.
9. Show grace.
10. Trust the process.

This year I’ve been fortunate to collaborate with my Connecticut College friend, Wendy Lavallee, who has started her own college advising business. Up to this point all of my clients have been sons/ daughters of high school or college friends, their friends, Loon Race Team connections; but working with Wendy’s clients, complete strangers to me, have reminded me that I don’t have to know these kids at all in order to help them draw out their story– the one worth telling– the one that will show college admissions folks that their character is worth the price of admission. Truly.

Even on Zoom, or Google Meet, or Facetime, one on one writing sessions can be very productive and effective at empowering young writers to believe their voices matter and helping them to realize that they don’t have to write about some big dramatic event to have an interesting story to tell. Some journeys are longer than others, and some parents want to believe they can manage the expectations without any help– and I say to them, Godspeed my child!

It’s so hard not to share little bits of their stories here knowing they are written for a far larger audience than the Common Application allows. But the magic isn’t in forcing the bloom; the magic is what happens when space, patience, and sunlight allow the bloom to come when ready. And, well, it’s pretty awesome to be a witness to that. Again, it’s an honor and privilege to help these kids to find their just right words just at the right time. Happy blooming!