Parents have asked how I got into Yale and Cambridge. They want the secret sauce for their own kids.

What worked for me (paraphrasing Bruce Lee, take what works for you and discard the rest):

-spend your childhood years living in 7 different foster homes /1
-don’t pay attention in elementary school
-make friends with kids who teach you how to steal purses
-vandalize buildings when you’re 9
-set a house on fire when you’re 10 (an accident, sort of)
-try smoking Marlboro reds when you’re 11 /2
-learn the choking game from your friend’s older sister when you’re 12
-learn to convert apple cores and Rockstar cans into weed pipes when you’re 14
-be actively irresponsible at every turn
-sleep your way through classes /3
-quietly read entire textbooks but don’t tell anyone
-do none of the homework
-put more effort into calculating how to get a C- rather than just doing the assignments
-copy answers from girls who are nice to you /4
-hide your report card from your parents (get to the mailbox before them)
-move out when you’re 16, get job as dishwasher
-hang out with 30 year old coworkers, ask them to buy you and your friends beer
-graduate high school with a 2.2 GPA /5
-join the military
-be amazed at the trust instilled in you at such a young age
-slowly realize that actions have consequences, both negative & positive /6
-read tons of books
-take smart risks instead of dumb ones
-ask for help
-listen to people who know more than you /7
More here: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/21/opinion/foster-child-conservative.html

Here (2nd essay down): https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/05/20/your-money/college-essays-on-money.html

And here: https://news.yale.edu/2017/11/13/veterans-day-remarks-rob-henderson-18
Veterans Day remarks by Rob Henderson ’18

For Rob Henderson ’18, service in the military provided a stability that was lacking during his early childhood, when he lived in foster homes.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/21/opinion/foster-child-conservative.html
Just remembered this. In 9th grade I spilled red gatorade on my desk

I used my biology homework to mop it up

Then gently placed the sheet, dripping in red gatorade, in the teacher's submission pile to be graded

The next day the paper had dried into a pinkish color. Got a C-.
"Who was a class clown when they were growing up?"

(Unsurprisingly) among 80~ grad students, I was the only one to raise my hand

This study resonates 🤡

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00604/full?utm_source=F-NTF&utm_medium=EMLX&utm_campaign=PRD_FEOPS_20170000_ARTICLE#T1
"When you grow up poor, the future isn't real."

Realest sentence I've read on twitter dot com https://twitter.com/EdLatimore/status/1155118929104265216?s=20
Some were skeptical that I graduated high school with a 2.2 GPA. I usually managed to check the mailbox first to hide my bad report cards

Got a C+ in psychology. Sign of a future PhD...
Friend with a similar background as me saw this thread and sent me this meme
People have written to me saying this piece made them cry

Not my intention. I was one of the lucky ones.

There are foster kids who have gone through way worse than what I went through https://nypost.com/2020/02/08/how-i-went-from-troubled-foster-kid-to-scholar-at-yale-and-cambridge/
How I went from troubled foster kid to scholar at Yale and Cambridge

I remember being in a long white hallway with my mother. I was sitting on a bench next to her, drinking chocolate milk as my 3-year-old legs dangled above the floor. I sneezed and spilled my milk, but

https://nypost.com/2020/02/08/how-i-went-from-troubled-foster-kid-to-scholar-at-yale-and-cambridge/
No one ever read to me as a kid. I would often write my name with backwards letters "Яobert" https://twitter.com/robkhenderson/status/1291362257956474880?s=20
You can follow @robkhenderson.
Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled:
Those who think consciousness raising & movement building are disconnected, or even a distraction from electoral politics have not paid attention to the history of social change.In this thread, we
Read more
The 2020s will be known as the Remote Work decadeA few predictions of what is likely to emerge[ a thread ] Third Space: Office and Working from Home will
Read more
1/29: Have you ever had a concept explained to you that helps frame complex issues you’ve been wrestling with and opens your eyes to new possibilities? A concept that I
Read more
By continuing to use the site, you are consenting to the use of cookies as explained in our Cookie Policy to improve your experience.