Mental health requires a balance of the drives toward chaos and control. I recently heard that Germans, renowned for their sense of order and control, let loose for a week at New Year’s in deference to that part of each of us that craves freedom and spontaneity.
In the college process, when I find myself working with students who lean heavily toward the control side, I try to create a channel to the sort of freedom and wildness that is often the seed of great writing. My colleague Nanny called out this force, and also gave some great practical advice in her recent blog: “Kick Start Your College Essays in August.”
As we approach September, I also find myself working to provide students with the comfort of that stereotypically German sense of order. We want the college process to take its proper place in the background as school begins so students have the bandwidth, energy, and attention to rise to the daily demands and opportunities of their senior year. Knowing and prioritizing deadlines, having good-enough drafts completed, getting green completion checks on their Common App, all help counter the abundant chaos that life throws at all of us.
Of these two forces, it’s clear that chaos, or at least unpredictability, reigns supreme in colleges’ changing circumstances and students’ admission outcomes. Control perhaps only comes in how we use our time and what we choose to focus on, both in deed and thought. What I wish for myself and rising seniors everywhere at this time of year is the gift of simply doing the next thing that needs to be done. With this as our focus, we can find balance and some semblance of mental health in the midst of the chaos beyond our control.
