I did not get into MIT. I wanted to. The geeky culture, the high level of excellence in music and the humanities–it looked amazing. I would have been miserable. In a pressure-cooker of empirical culture I would not have been happy as a subjective writer. CMU is so much better for me–not because I was not MIT material, but because I am a science fiction book at a business conference. Sensible cotton at a Victoria Secret. A political blog in a research university. Good material, wrong outfit.
It seems the same thing has happened with the Truman Scholarship (which I wrote about here). Even though I want it, and think it would be good for me, today I found out I cannot compete for it. Again, this is not because I am a bad leader–as my review for my work with the Poetry and Prose Performances Project shows, I am a good leader. It is not that I am not smart–my review for my work as a Developer at Stanford shows that I am smart. And I do not need outside confirmation to tell me that I will make a difference in this world–I know I will do this because it is a promise I made to myself. It is because the Truman is for a specific kind of leader, with a specific kind of bright future. I do not fit the profile. I can’t say I am not sad and disappointed. But it is just an opportunity to determine my own path.
The good new is the wonderful folks who reviewed my initial application liked my writing. And since I will be out of contact for the 4th of July weekend, I am going to post pieces of what I turned in to them. Enjoy!
Inspirational Quote:
A right is not what someone gives you, it’s what no one can take away from you. Ramsey Clark
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