Alma Mater | STANFORD magazine

By Mary Poindexter McLaughlin, '87

No doubt she’s disappointed. Such a disgrace I turned out to be. Not a policy-maker Or tech-savvy entrepreneur. Nothing of note. I gave birth three times and sent three tall, kind people into the world I offered words of consolation I planted sunflowers I listened Elected official? Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist? Cutting-edge thought-leader? MD, PhD, CEO? Oscar, Emmy, Tony? Nobel? Anything? I closed my mother’s eyes when she died and again, my father’s I made no fortune no headlines nothing went viral I sang and danced for no one I remembered I noticed I…

saved by

• Rebecca Lin

related reading

• The Disadvantages of an Elite Education - The American Scholartheamericanscholar.org
• Motherratsfromrocks.substack.com
• I’m Broke and Friendless and I’ve Wasted My Whole Lifethecut.com
• The Despair of the Young - by Mary Gaitskill - Out of Itmarygaitskill.substack.com
• the hunger to be everything.odetoapoet.substack.com
• Writing as self-flagellationashleydzhang.substack.com
• The Empty Glass by Louise Gluck - Famous poems, famous poets. - All Poetryallpoetry.com
• The Average Fourth Grader Is a Better Poet… | The Poetry Foundationpoetryfoundation.org
• what happened to our college essay selves?hollyyzhuang.substack.com
• ambition and kidstiffchat.substack.com
• ode to the mets | arielle lokariellelok.com
• Early Darkness by Louise Gluck - Famous poems, famous poets. - All Poetryallpoetry.com