Chapter 19 - Mason’s First RecommendationThree years later, Mason was seventeen.
He needed a recommendation for a summer engineering program.
The new principal asked:
“Who do you want writing it?”
Mason froze.
For years recommendations meant leverage.
Victor had offered Logan one as currency.
Threatened to withhold them.
Used them to shape Mason’s future.
Mason chose his physics teacher.
He asked:
“Can you write honestly?”
The teacher laughed.
“That’s usually the idea.”
“No.”
Mason looked serious.
“I mean if there’s something I’m not great at, put it.”
The teacher studied him.
“Okay.”
The letter described Mason as:
strong conceptual thinker;
inconsistent under timed pressure;
persistent;
excellent collaborator;
improved self-advocacy.
Not perfect.
Mason loved it.
May you like
He was accepted.
The first recommendation he trusted was the one that did not pretend he was flawless.
