You are, without a doubt, one of the most important people who’s ever passed through my life.

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.”

 “The door opens for you,” he remarked as we walked out into the bitter cold. “Back home you had to open the door, but here it opens for you.”

Maybe the current generation is finally waking up to this scam. Your teachers and parents expect you to know what you want to do with your life at age 16. They promise you a future, but they’re actually just chaining you to a system. 

Two geeks sat in a room and geeked out over a topic obscure even by geek standards: standardized testing requirements.

It’s been this way since I was in high school, and maybe even before that: Teenagers are expected to do it all. A diverse assortment of extracurriculars, every AP class your high school offers, good grades, high standardized test scores, community service, and an after-school job.

William Kamkwamba was a teenager from the village of Wimbe in central Malawi whose family was too broke to pay his school fees. So he did something extraordinary: Went to the library, found a book about energy, and built a windmill out of bicycle parts and garbage to provide electricity to his family’s house.

The world can be a harsh, unfair place. The one thing we can control is our own energy. So why not use it to be a force for kindness and equality?

Wealthy American parents can buy grades, standardized test scores, and admission to elite universities. The most recent example comes from 2019, when 50 rich families were charged with using their money to cheat the system.