When I Dropped Out At 20, My Sister Told Everyone: “She’s The One Who Didn’t Finish.” Twelve Years Later, I’m Yale’s Dean Of Admissions. One Essay Read: “My Family Moved Past My Aunt’s Setback.” The Name? Amanda Chen. My Niece. I Picked Up My Red Pen And…

the window and understood that whatever else Jennifer felt toward me, embarrassment was only part of it. She needed me to be wrong. Some part of her structure depended on it.

The easiest thing in the world would have been to let her version of me harden into truth. Failure is seductive when enough people keep handing it back to you in polished language.continue reading …