Sailing Away in the Midst of College Application Season

Cruising along under blue skies.

I wasn’t planning on going to my 35th high school reunion in Louisville because I had just visited my family there a month ago, when we weren’t far too far away after we had dropped our son off for college. However, when a former classmate suggested it might be bad luck to miss a 35th reunion if you were 53 (numbers reversed!), it made me think twice. So I drove about 500 miles for an Ohio River cruise on a beautiful yacht with my old—let me rephrase that—with my friends from the past.

We had a blast. But interestingly enough, while we were on the boat, torrential rain came down. Think of it as Noah’s Ark without the mating! Most of us came solo, either by choice or circumstance. A few hours later, when the boat docked we mingled under tents behind the restaurant or gathered inside for more shelter. Finally, we dared to drive home, or in my case, to my parents’ home. Six inches of rain had come down that night. It made national news.

Most people in Louisville now have horrific accounts to tell about that colossal storm and its aftermath. But those of us on the yacht have terrific stories. Had the reunion been inside the nearby restaurant, certainly some of us would have opted to leave early to avoid the flooded roads. But we were “stuck” on the boat, forced to mingle, floating away as time flew.

The reason I’m blogging about this is not to reveal how frighteningly old this young-at-heart person is getting (I can’t believe I admitted my age!), but to show how a single event can entertain different viewpoints.

For the most part, college admissions officers don’t want to read academic essays. They want to read individual perspectives. I could have relayed a story about the daring captain of our vessel, or the dangers of driving on the roads, especially those down by the river, but I didn’t. We were just a group of middle-aged kids (and a few of our teachers!) having a great time sailing on our own “Noah’s Ark,” and very happy it wasn’t the S.S. Minnow!

Now I’m really dating myself!

About Nancy Frieder

Nancy Frieder hopes her passion for assisting students with their college and post graduate application essays shines through in her blogs. She created The Write Stuff Help to reduce the stress for the applicants and their parents by helping the student pinpoint an essay topic and write it in a way to attract admissions officers. Those who work with Nancy not only improve their writing, but also learn to target an audience with a unique reflection of themselves in a way that their test scores and GPA cannot. Nancy has lived in Montgomery County for more than 27 years. She has held reporting and editing positions for both local and national publications, and enjoys substitute teaching in Montgomery County Public Schools. Nancy and her husband just became empty-nesters, as both of their children now attend college. Their dog, Fez, is getting more attention than ever! Catch up with Nancy on Facebook and at her website The Write Stuff Help.

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