College admissions departments, especially at Ivy League schools, refer to legacy candidates ie those whose parent(s) attended the school. Everyone leaves a legacy whether it’s the fact they attended Harvard, made a name for themselves at Roto Rooter, or actually didn’t get into Harvard or achieve any of the ambitious goals they’d set for themselves. This last category of human being is generally bitter. Rather than adjusting, they feel they've been dealt a bad hand. They may criticize the admissions office for only choosing those applicants whose essays underscored their interest in the collective good over individual excellence, this latter being the thrust of their admissions essay.Those few souls who believe in a divine order may utter a sickening platitude like “everything is as its supposed to be or it would be different.” Does that help someone who’s the victim of a head on collision with another car—or reality for that matter? Broken people leave the detritus of failure in their wakes. Even if you already have a BA, can you apply to get one from another institution? At the age of 80, when you finally finish an interminable analysis, can you reapply to Harvard? Can you go to the bottom of the ladder at DDB Worldwide if you never made it beyond being a middle manager at Ogilvy & Mather, and try all over again? What if there's a conspiracy against you? What if you’re hexed and nothing you do matters? Should you keep trying or simply give up, accepting the fact the cards are stacked against you.
"What Do You Do When You're Caught in a Cultural Rip Tide?" by Francis Levy, HuffPost
"(I'm a) Roadrunner" by Junior Walker & The All Stars
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