“Hi, Ken! It’s Jesse! Believe it or not, I’m now applying to Amherst College, and I wonder if you would write me a recommendation?”
Jesse Shotland, now age 28, was a delightful member of North Star for two years, 2009-2011. We have stayed in touch, and I knew that after two serious career explorations in his early twenties, Jesse was now back in our area attending community college and sorting out his options. I didn’t know that he is ready to move on.
“I’ve already been accepted to the University of Massachusetts Honors Program, and well, I know you went to Amherst, so I figured a letter from you might help!”
“Wait, what?” I thought! Jesse has always had a sparkle and a bit of happy mischief about him, but he had not been particularly academically focused as a teen. I asked him to catch me up, and he offered to share his college admission essay with me. It is moving and wonderful, so I asked if Jesse if I could share it as this blog, and now you get to read it, too!
I meet a lot of parents who are worried that their teenagers are not serious about academic learning, whether those children are attending school or homeschooling. These parents often find my cheerful optimism about the long-term outlook for their children to be a bit surprising and misplaced, as they don’t know how people overcome a difficult adolescence and a lackluster high school transcript.
Read Jesse’s essay, and accept that for the most part, every day since he left school, Jesse has been cheerful, busy, and thoughtful about his life. I don’t consider it any sort of victory or vindication that Jesse is now pursuing serious academics in college, but I do see it a joyous example of, “you-never-know” where life might lead you. Many people I know spent their post-college years experimenting with careers and travels – it turns out Jesse is doing these things in his own order. Congratulations to him for finding his own path.
Please share his story with any worried parents and teens you know! There are plenty of ways to live an interesting life.
Thank you, Jesse, for sharing yours.
Jesse Shotland – Personal Essay for Amherst College Admissions, Spring 2021
School never clicked for me as an adolescent. I had trouble knowing why I should care about my grades. Middle school was cluttered with meetings with teachers telling me why I needed to apply myself, why I needed to study before quizzes, and why I needed to try harder. They may as well have been telling a monkey to write Shakespeare; it just wasn’t going to happen.
When I entered high school, I was behind not just educationally but physically as well. Being the shortest and least developed kid in the school left me feeling alienated by my peers. I spent the first two years figuring out how to be like the other kids and not a prepubescent outcast. I was half-asleep and late nearly every day, which brought up the alarming possibility of being taken away from my dad because I was missing out on my education.
My English teacher had taken notice and wanted to inspire me with an enticing deal: I slammed a poem in front of the entire school and, in return, received my first and only A. During my junior year, I initiated conversations with the head of North Star, a local education center aimed at helping teens who struggle with conventional schooling. I convinced my parents to let me join North Star’s self-directed learning program, where I found happiness again, emerging from my traditional education fog. North Star introduced me back to socializing, my first relationship, and photography, which would be a big part of my life.
Within a year of finishing at North Star, I attended Greenfield Community College, where I struggled yet again with traditional schooling for a semester before dropping out. After some time, I decided to pursue my dream of being a photographer in New York City. In four fast-paced years, I established myself as a reliable and competent photographer. I shot many of the city’s grandest weddings and events. At the pinnacle of my success in photography, I found bicycle racing through commuting around the city. I put my camera down to pursue this new passion and found myself rapidly growing stronger in the sport, developing new goals.
While I was training to make the Olympic cycling team, I moved around, living in cities and towns with racing tracks. I picked up a few philosophy books along the way and found myself enthralled and giddy by the material. At the apex of my racing career in 2019, I hadn’t made the Olympic team, and I was unsure of my next step. Photography had given me precision, style, and pride in delivering polished final products. Through my professional racing, I learned how to apply myself and remain disciplined through crippling self-doubt without losing sight of my goals.
I moved back home to return to school with a newfound set of skills to apply to achieve my goals with conviction. At first, I only considered childhood education, but when I thought about it, I realized I owed it to myself to take a philosophy class too. By the end of my first semester back in school after nearly a decade, I came to realize that I would only feel intellectually fulfilled studying philosophy for the rest of my life. I decided to apply myself vigorously to my studies, achieve the high GPA that I have, and attend the best schools that would push me to be the caliber of philosopher and someday professor that I am capable of being.
At Amherst College, I believe I can attain a diverse and expansive education to hone my knack for philosophy with the guidance and mentorship that the professors and staff have to offer. After graduation, I plan to apply to Ph.D. programs to continue learning, building a career teaching philosophy, and publishing my work.
Jesse, I love this! You have a beautiful way with words and your story is so wonderful!! I feel very proud to know you!❤️
There are different routes towards discovering one’s purpose and passion. I applaud Jesse for finding his at his right time.
Love this story. An extraordinary young man; the world already has and will continue to benefit from his talents, skills, passion and insight. He has been, and is, very much engaged and contributing to life itself by being happy and fulfilled. Thank you Jesse, and thank you Ken for holding the space for him all these years. I wish you both the very best in your ‘work’ – aka joy.