inner monologue

Haven’t heard from Friday in awhile. I wonder what he thinks about all this… Malawians are so polite it can be hard to know what they’re actually thinking. What would I do if Ms. Chaput decided to ride a bike across the country to help me apply to college? I’d be like… lady, what are you doing? That’s so much work! What if I couldn’t match her enthusiasm, those expectations?

No, this is different. Friday is Malawian; he grew up in a culture where it’s a thing to have American volunteers move to your village. He specifically asked me for help.

But does he really even understand what this entails? Does he really, truly want to go to college in America? If he did, wouldn’t he be contacting me more? I know he has what it takes (even though all his documentation will probably say otherwise), but does he believe that?

I keep hearing the same message from these admissions counselors: They wish they could let in students like Friday, but… and then they give me a look that says, “The money isn’t there.” And so they reject these students on the basis of SAT scores or GPA. Can Friday not be judged on his own merits? Can they really not recognize his tenacity, his potential? Are you saying you can’t educate a hard-working, motivated student? If not, what kind of school are you? Are you a school at all, or just a business?

But also like… shouldn’t Friday be the one saying this, not me?