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Friday, December 27, 2019

My Semester With the Snowflakes

In May of 2019, I was accepted to the Eli Whitney student program at Yale University. At 52, I am the oldest freshman in the class of 2023. Before I was accepted, I didn’t really know what to expect. I had seen the infamous YouTube video of students screaming at a faculty member. I had seen the news stories regarding the admissions scandal and that Yale was included in that unfortunate business. I had also heard the students at Yale referred to as “snowflakes” in various social media dumpsters and occasionally I’d seen references to Ivy League students as snowflakes in a few news sources.

I should give a bit of background information. I was an unimpressive and difficult student in public schools. I joined the military at 17 and spent close to 26 years in the US Navy. I was assigned, for 22 of those years to Naval Special Warfare Commands. I went through SEAL training twice, quit the first time and barely made it the second time. I did multiple deployments and was wounded in combat in 2009 on a mission to rescue an American hostage.

Every single day I went to work with much better humans than myself. I was brought to a higher level of existence because the standards were high and one needed to earn their slot, their membership in the unit. This wasn’t a one-time deal. Every time you showed up for work, you needed to prove your worth.

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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you sir!

Anonymous said...

Wait just a minute - grandfather's who came here and were taxi cab drivers and now have family in Take. Wow what an American Dream. What about fathers/grandfathers born in America and have family NOT in Yale. How does that American Dream work for real Americans?

Anonymous said...

I can remember when if you were Asian you could get into any college over an American. Why is it that Americans are not first?

Anonymous said...

Because Asian parents pay extremely close attention to their children's education from pre K and up. Notice I said parents-plural. There is a father and mother in the home and both parents are highly involved in the lives and education of their children.
The children respect their parents and will make certain they don't do anything to bring disrespect or embarrassment to their family.

Anonymous said...

glad to see he found his safe space! typical squid! did they let you bring your soap on a rope?

Anonymous said...

Why do you think they are not American? They ARE American with Asian ancestry. And yes, the parents focus on their children's education.