Today I am up in Maine....all the way up in Maine. If I were to take a right off of Route 1 North, I would be in New Brunswick, Canada in about 5 minutes. The land up here is beautiful with a variety of plowed fields, meandering streams, looming mountains and naked trees. It truly is breathtaking! And, to add to the pleasures of being in Northern Maine, I saw my first wild moose--two, in fact. As I drove home from my school visit, the sky had since gone dark, I passed a number of big, yellow moose warning signs. I slowed down a bit because I do not think my little, rented Kia would stand a chance (nor do I want to get in yet another accident with the same rental company's car) and wouldn't you know, two moose were relaxing on the side of the road. Their big, gangly, broad silhouettes were displayed on the pavement and their eyes flashed in the lights of my car. Man, these are some large animals--definintely taller than my car. Unfortunately, there was a car behind me so I could not slow down to truly observe my first wild moose(s), but I squealed in delight at the sight--what a thrill!

Tonight held another unexpected thrill for me--a meal in a high school cafeteria with actual high school students. A meal with trays, lunch ladies, food fights, metiocre food-the works- but there was something missing. These kids were not flirting, giggling, posing or gossiping as I assumed most, if not all, high school students do, no, these kids were talking about linear algebra, organic chemistry, who was applying to what schools and what kinds of research they were hoping to do in college. The closest they got to gossip was which kids got into to what schools, followed by exclamations of disbelief and then proclamations that if Jane Doe got into to MIT then I should be a shoe in. Concerned with the research grants and awards won by possible future faculty, these kids would never settle for the undecorated, looking only at Ivy, pseudo-Ivy and highly respected research universities. I looked around at the earnest faces surrounding me, foreheads furrowed in concentration while listing off the applications sent or to be sent, schools visited or to be visited. Kids leaned forward on the table, taking in each detail, steam shooting from their ears as they received, processed and one-upped the reports of their peers. Dumbstruck, I silently ate my tasteless, mushy food, taking a moment to see if there was a cereal option. I could not relate to these students in any way, shape or form. At my high school, this type of kid sat at a different cafeteria table than I did, surrounding themselves with their competition, who played the secondary role of friend. My friends were certainly concerned about our futures, and we did discuss college in the cafeteria--but not like this, nothing like this.

As I took in their comments, questions and energy, which was zinging through the air, I wondered how these kids got this way. The boys are barely capable of growing facial hair, voices occasionally crack and yet they are talking about winning grants, working with the most notable of professors. The girls are assertive, articulate and baby-faced, discussing ground-breaking research and how colleges don't respect the difficulty of linear alegebra. (The table also took a moment to bemoan the ignorance of admission counselors in the fields of math and science. Apparently, we often do not understand that linear algebra is not the thing we learned in 8th grade, but something much more difficult.) Bemused, and a bit taken aback, I turned my dishes into the dishwashing man and headed to the room in which I would be presenting. I needed to escape the anxiety, competition and general flurry of energy in the cafeteria. My brain had had enough.

Following 20 minutes of catching my breath, I began my presentation on the college I represent (which is not Ivy, or even remotely affiliated with the exception that we do have ivy on our brick builldings). The kids listened patiently and responded with hands in the air when asked if they had any questions. They wanted to know the percentage of acceptances into medical school, will businesses recognize and respect the name, would we be less likely to accept them should they indicate the other schools to which they have applied (including, but not limited to, MIT, Harvard, Dartmouth, Brown, CalTech and Stanford), and what awards have our professors won. One girl needed to know if the research we do at my school is in any way groundbreaking, and could we support her groundbreaking research. Patiently, I answered their questions one by one...or tried to anyway, but I found it hard to relate. I could not place myself in their shoes to better understand the origins of their questions. I could not comprehend being so driven and focused at 17. Are these kids well balanced? Do they have a healthy perspective on life? Did they naturally become this way or has someone taught them what to strive for? While I have met my fair share of brilliant young people, I have never encountered teenagers like this--17 going on 40, with the best being the only acceptable option.

After an hour and a half at this school, I felt drained and perplexed. Are these kids freaks of nature, or were they just incapable of internal monologue so I was hearing the true cocerns of today's teen. If tonight was indicative of the general adolescent mentality, I must admit I feel a bit of fear for their futures. Is their any room for failure, or even a simple mistake? Is there room for personal exploration, discovery and growth? If these kids are an anomaly, thank God. Stretching your brain early is great, but putting yourself under unforgiving pressure before the exploration has even begun, that is a quite frightening. Tonight--tonight was frightening!