New York Times Publishes Son’s Letter

First, quick apology about last week. Just a crazy week and did not get to post much. Will make it up. More importantly, my 17 year old son who just graduated high school wrote a letter to the New York Times Book Reviews which is published every Sunday and it appeared in today’s New York Times. I am overwhelmed to say the least. He is an amazing writer and always had the gift, but he is taking it to a new level.
Now I know its not good for a blog to get off topic…and this is way off topic of products liability issues, but it is such an important part of my life and of who I am, I just need to yell it out. A little background will help. My oldest son has always had the gift of writing. He has always written pieces of work which were well beyond his calender years. If he had any weakness in this area, as with most kids his age and going through teenage angst, he has never really believed in himself and his abilities as a writer as much as his Mom and Dad have. You can tell your kids all you want how talented they are, but they have to feel it deep down inside before they can truly begin to blossom.
I think he really began to understand and believe in his talent last summer when he learned he received a 5 on the AP English Exam. For those who are not familiar with AP Exams, 5 is the highest score you can achieve and its a college level exam. When he learned his score, you could see the look in his eyes change. The self recognition that “Hey, I can do this.”
Throughout this past school year, as he applied to schools known and recognized for their focus on writing, and began to recieve acceptance after acceptance, I could continue to see that light in his eyes grow even stronger. About a month and a half ago we went to one of the schools he was accepted to in order to make that final decision of where to go. Getting into this school, nationally recognized for focusing on writing and putting out amazing young writers, was a huge feather in his cap. When we met with one of the admission’s counselors, she just went on and on how amazing his essay was that he wrote for his application and they gave it the highest score they give for essays. I could sense his pride…and belief in himself just flowing. As usual, he played down his abilities and was polite in thanking the Counselor for her thoughts, but I could see it was all coming together for him.
Which leads me to the New York Times Book Review. No, we don’t live in New York, but every Sunday for at least the last year or two, I pick up the Sunday New York Times and my wife and I enjoy just taking Sunday morning to catch up on the world. My older son as well, would read certain sections, but always first attacked the New York Times Book Review section. You see, besides being a gifted writer, he is a voracious reader and always is looking for new books to jump into.
Then it happened. He told his Mom and I about a week ago that he had written a letter to the editor of the New York Times Book Review and they contacted him and said they were going to publish it. If you don’t know, typically, very few, such letters are ever published, and they are usually from some scholastic, professor or other writer commenting on a review. My son expressed how this was the crowning achievement in his eyes to his first 17 years….Then the topper of it all came.
Yesterday, as his Mom and I come home from an afternoon at the gym, he was standing outside with just this amazing smile on his face. Apparently an editor of a major publisher read an advance copy of his letter and was interested in reading his writings. What??? Could this be true??? Well, yes apparently it is. As a parent, I couldn’t be more proud of him. But most importantly, he finally gets it. He finally understands and believes in his talent and now I know…..the skies the limit! Fly son, its your time!