The Genius of Little Things Read Online Free PDF Page A

believed me.
·          The first FoHo. This ex-preacher listened to Christian radio too much and didn’t bathe enough.
·          FoHo number five. For some reason I can’t remember anything except Pumpkin, the dog. It was a Pomeranian. Pumpkin and I got along well.
·          FoHo number six. I got the heave-ho after the FoMo became pregnant and needed more “space.” My case manager told me not to take it personally. All case managers say this.
·          FoHo number four. I can’t remember anything. I can’t even remember their house. They must not have been terrible.
·          Number seven, Carl and Janet. It has only been three weeks, so this could move up the list. Upside: I have my own room. Upside: a fifteen-minute walk from school and the public library. Upside: not violent or religious. Downside: highly invasive.

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I was riding the bus to Covenant Catering when I had a disturbing thought. It was even more disturbing than the possibility that the feral-looking man standing nearby would start stabbing me with his corkscrew. Not only would I have to write two superior essays, save piles of money and keep my grades up, I would have to become a football player or trombonist or cheerleader, or do something special to impress Caltech admissions.
Here’s why. Earlier that day, in German class, I overheard a guy talking about his application to Stanford. Jann-Otto—that was his German class name—complained about how Stanford wanted “all-around superior students.” He didn’t think his straight-A average and near-perfect test scores would be good enough. “If I graduate summa cum laude, and I will, it won’t be enough.” Was Jann-Otto right? Would my perfect grades and near-perfect scores be good enough for Caltech? Could the admissions committee be so demanding as to insist on applicants being stellar in every aspect of their lives?
They could. My evidence was on the application at the top of page four.
Caltech is committed to attracting students who will enhance campus life. Please list activities that show your leadership, growth, or diversity of interests.
My interpretation. What makes you think Caltech would want a geek like you?
It wasn’t enough to have the grades and science fair accolades. It wasn’t enough to explore macroevolutionary changes in spore dispersal in basidiomycetes. That was my tenth grade project. Those achievements were the bare minimum for admission. I was one in thousands.
There were only eight weeks until the application deadline. Eight weeks to cultivate diverse interests and leadership skills that would make me an enhancement to campus life. Finding the right club and making time to participate and excel would not be simple, but it would be necessary.
     
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As you on the Caltech admissions committee are probably aware, applicants who have measured the effect of bee pollen on probiotic bacteria, as I have, are a dime a dozen. But how many of those applicants have also mimed pollen? I have done that in my Creative Soul class. And how many of those students also have been a leader in (EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITY TBD) as I have?
     
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During Creative Soul class, I had an idea about how to present myself as someone Caltech might not dismiss. This came as a result of a miming exercise.
Ms. Gurzy put mime ideas on scraps of paper, placed the scraps in a bowl and passed the bowl around. These weren’t traditional mimes, like being trapped in a box. They were more bizarre, like a giraffe tap dancing and an electric can opener with a can of pinto beans. Ms. Gurzy was sitting with her knees and apart ankles crossed, which, with her huge peasant skirt, made the chair disappear. For each performance she had a wide-eyed expression, as if she were seeing the aurora borealis for the first time. We weren’t given any time to prepare. We just grabbed a slip of paper and started performing. I picked my slip of paper—pollen in the