{"id":2941,"date":"2019-02-06T08:00:54","date_gmt":"2019-02-06T13:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nacacadmitted.wpengine.com\/wordpress\/?p=2941"},"modified":"2019-01-31T09:10:20","modified_gmt":"2019-01-31T14:10:20","slug":"a-letter-from-a-counselor-to-high-school-seniors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/2019\/02\/06\/a-letter-from-a-counselor-to-high-school-seniors\/","title":{"rendered":"A Letter from a Counselor to High School Seniors"},"content":{"rendered":"
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iStock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Editor\u2019s Note: National School Counseling Week, sponsored by ASCA, is always celebrated the first full week in February.\u00a0Learn more<\/a>\u00a0about this year\u2019s celebration and use the comment section below to let us know what you hope your students learn from you. <\/em><\/p>\n

Every year, I say goodbye to a group of students I\u2019ve shepherded through the college application process. We\u2019ve spent a lot of time together. Obviously, we\u2019ve talked about college. But we\u2019ve also spent a lot of time talking about life, their hopes and dreams, the challenges they\u2019ve faced. As I brace myself for the inevitable separation, this is what I hope they\u2019ve learned from me.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Dear Seniors,<\/p>\n

As you embark on your final semester, I can\u2019t help but look back fondly at the years I\u2019ve spent with you. Thank you for allowing me to be a small part of your life. I\u2019m grateful to have been a part of the awesome, happy moments you\u2019ve had. But I feel a deeper sense of privilege when I remember the times you\u2019ve shared the pain, challenges, and difficulties of your life. For when people share their pain, it is the greatest gift, bestowed with the highest sense of trust.<\/p>\n

As I think about the fact that you\u2019ll be leaving here in just a few months, I hope that you\u2019ve learned some things from me, as we\u2019ve journeyed together in the college application process. Honestly, I hope your takeaway has not just been about how to write a cool personal statement or put together a solid college list. These things, while good things, are not the most important things.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more important?<\/p>\n

Never forget that you are enough. Always. Without condition. Frank Bruni is right when he writes, \u201cWhere you go isn\u2019t who you\u2019ll be.\u201d Where you go ISN\u2019T who you\u2019ll be. Research bears that out.<\/p>\n

But I want to also tell you that where you go isn\u2019t who you are. Going to a certain school doesn\u2019t make you better or brighter. Each of you is important. You are special. You have enormous, limitless potential. Comparison really is the thief of joy. I hope you have learned from me that you are enough.<\/p>\n

Never forget that you always have a choice. You can\u2019t control everything that happens to you in life, but you always have a choice in how you respond. Being able to make choices is what makes us distinctly human. It\u2019s the only thing in life you have absolute control over. As Randy Pausch said, \u201cYou can\u2019t change the cards you\u2019re dealt, just how you play the hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pain may be inevitable, but misery is definitely optional. Will you choose to be bitter or better? It\u2019s entirely up to you. When you understand and embrace this truth, it will free you.<\/p>\n

Never forget that pain can be a gift. I often used to wonder if this could actually be true. Most of us spend tons of emotional energy and time trying to figure out how we can avoid pain. But if we move into it and even embrace it, we will find that it can be truly transformative; it never fails to change us. I\u2019ve shared the story of the diamond more times than I can remember with your class. It still moves me.<\/p>\n

The diamond begins as the most common element: carbon, or as we know it, a piece of coal. Through intense heat and pressure, it transforms into a beautiful and rare gem. Its value increases exponentially. If we want to be people of value, we need to let the heat and pressure of life change us. I hope you will remember to be open to the gift of pain.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t just remember these things, live them. They are not just for school, but for life, the life that you are well-prepared to live.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"\"NACAC Member Christine Loo is the director of college counseling at The Stony Brook School (NY). <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s Note: National School Counseling Week, sponsored by ASCA, is always celebrated the first full week in February.\u00a0Learn more\u00a0about this year\u2019s celebration and use the comment section below to let us know what you hope your students learn from you. Every year, I say goodbye to a group of students I\u2019ve shepherded through the college … Continue reading A Letter from a Counselor to High School Seniors<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-college-readiness","category-importance-of-school-counselors"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Christine Loo","author_link":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/author\/christine-loo\/"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peWmJq-Lr","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2941\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}