There was a girl sitting in the back of the dim, 2nd grade classroom in late October, her nose buried in a book. The words of the teacher, already so familiar to her ears, passed over her; her mind was not in a history class, but in a carnival, filled with freaks and dangers and three, talented orphans. The book had just come out, and she was determined to finish it before the sun set. She was quiet, and kept...

Choose schools that make you comfortable. I was heavily pressured by friends and family to apply to schools...