Emphasis added to this quote.
Last month my fellow Times contributing writer Megan Stack wrote an essay about the unpredictability of life, how things can still turn out all right even for the troublemakers and the academically flailing. My life is a testament to her point. But having lived through that life arc, I also know that whatever vision I began to craft for myself required the willingness of adults to take a risk on a kid who, on paper, looked thoroughly unpromising.
For those who don’t know, this was a follow-up to the column that was shared in this thread:
I also really liked this quote from the article when the author was talking with the admissions officer at North Central who had let her in. Sometimes we forget how interwoven we all are and how much impact we can have by just by affecting one person. It helps turn a lens on all of our actions, every day, because we never know when we’ll be that positive thing in someone else’s life that will change their day, week, or life.
It might seem like low stakes, a matter of acceptance or rejection for just that one life, just that one person. “But it’s not just one person,” Mr. Spencer told me, “because one person impacts so many.”