"Arms Race to Authenticity"

Today, like many others, I was asked a pretty typical question by the father of a young man who attended one of our Fall Focus Day prospective student events. "How do ya'll ensure that the essays students submit, are actually their own work?" My first thought was, "how sad... the national conversation has come to this." Enough people are cheating their way to the top (in business, government, relationships etc...) that even our high school age students have begun to get in on the game. Enough of the college going population is using loopholes to get into their preferred institutions that students and families who have moral compasses feel a need to ask us, "how are we ensuring that it's all fair?" Uggh. I am a mom, a counselor, a wife, a friend, an administrator, a teacher, a communicator, an organizer- I am a lot of things (some better than others). I must admit, I never thought I'd feel like a member of the plagerism police. Thankfully, I genuinely believe that we haven't reached a point where anywhere near the vast majority of students are cheating their way through the essay writing process. I hope, with all that I hold dear in the world, that we never get there. It would be an immensely sad commentary on the messages adults are sending children these days.

I was having a conversation about this very topic with my boss a couple of weeks ago. He referenced an article recently published in which an independent college counselor said that he actually encourages his students to include spelling errors in their applications- so as to look more "authentic". After all, we are all imperfect- right? His philosophy- the high gloss, polish of college applications these days has become less and less attractive as admisison counselors begin to question where the line should be drawn between the packaging that a college counseling staff does, and the application prep that a student in capable of. Yes- don't stop now, you read that correctly, the counselor actually recommends to his students that they include spelling errors in their college essays so that admission counselors will think that they haven't received "too much help" in the revision department. -- Silence-- Sorry, I just needed a second to shake my head, sigh and get myself together. Isn't that sad? That the pressure to get in, the pressure to be admitted to "that place", the pressure to "figure out the system" is so great, that students are cheating their way through.

At the risk of underdeveloping this post and getting off of a topic I could probably write about for an hour- lets move on to a tangent. It is hard to be truly authentic- all the time. If I really think about it, I'm myself most of the time, but I'm sure there are moments when I'm not as open about my fears, opinions, desires etc... as I would be if I wanted everyone interact with to know the REAL me. As Thanksgiving approaches, maybe I'll make that a new goal. To think about authenticity. I'm not in the arms race, just interested in feeling like I've gotten there. How could we all be just a bit more real?

On another unrelated note, it is FREEZING tonight. I'm going upstairs to put on my fuzzy bathrobe. It feels as though winter is arriving- and I love it. The leaves were gorgeous today. Almost as if the peak foliage waited to arrive until November 17th, just to celebrate my mom's birthday (today). We're in the countdown to Thanksgiving- t minus five days- and I'm grateful that quintessential Virginia weather has been replaced by the crispness that reminds me of my New England home... Heres to hoping I can throw a few dishes together that make me feel equally holiday like. If I was being real with you, and we know that's my goal, I'd tell you that it isn't Thanksgiving without my mom's creamed mushrooms, my grandma's stuffed dates or cherry swirl pie. If I get all of that done it will be a miracle. So, I'll keep you posted.

Onward to authenticity.