Every episode of Bridezillas
shows brides at their worst—obsessed with planning the perfect wedding to their
exact specifications and, as the show’s website describes, “…willing to do
whatever it takes to get it, no matter the consequences!” They’re neurotic, demanding, and seemingly
incapable of enjoying what could be an exciting time leading up to their big
day.
Nobody denies that a wedding is an important day. But there’s no law dictating how that day has
to turn out or how the planning must be treated. Every
bride, groom and family gets to make their own choice. They can decide that only one desired outcome
is acceptable and that anything less will ruin the big day. Or they can relish that the marriage itself
is what’s important, knowing that they’ll be happy even if the dress, table
linens and flowers don’t turn out exactly as they’d planned.
Families get to make the same choice about the college
admissions process. If you decide that
an admission to one dream school is the only acceptable outcome, expect that every step to
get there will be full of anxiety. If you make that choice, much like the bridezillas and their
families, nobody’s going to enjoy the experience together.
Or you can decide that the important thing is that your
student is going to college, that one grade, SAT score or admissions decision
from a particular school isn’t going to change the big picture. Make that choice, and your ride to college
becomes a lot more exciting and even fun.
Yes, a lot of families are predisposed to lean one way or
the other. But it’s still a choice. Nobody forces the bridezillas to behave like
they do, and nobody forces a student or parent to treat the college admissions
process like an arms race.
Admissionzilla or not?
Make your choice.