I think at Mount especially, it can be hard to remember that we should, like Palmer, be thinking of “Who am I?” instead of “Who should I be?”. Our private academy strives for success and prestige. Many students are therefore highly competitive. In the senior year college selection process, Mount students tend to look more towards the “Big Name” schools they “should” be looking at, instead of thinking “where would I fit in?”. The “Big Name” schools, however, may not be places that some of us would succeed the most or feel the happiest. My biggest advice to juniors embarking on the college search process would be to ask Palmer’s question of “Who am I?” before touring a college to see if a school best suits you, instead of stressing over the facts and numbers.
I like Palmer’s breakthrough line where he says, “What a long time it can take to become the person one has always been!” The line has so much truth to it. In teenage years especially, it can be hard to find our true selves with all of the pressures of friends/parents/society surrounding us. We can live our lives in a daily blur of doing the tasks and being the people we “should be.” Palmers line is simple, yet extremely eye opening. We each need to focus on being our true selves.
