Volume 2: Knocking on Heaven's Door Chapter 41 Guidance
Tommy Hawke first went back to his apartment and took off the T-shirt with Italy's victory printed on it and threw it into the corner. Then he put on another T-shirt with Bob Dylan's lyrics "When you have nothing, you have nothing to lose" printed on it. With a depressed look on his face, he raised his middle finger to the T-shirt in the corner:
FuckYou, Italy!
Then he rode his bike to Lincoln High School.
The reason why he hated Italy at this moment was naturally because of the World Cup. Although both regular betting companies in Las Vegas and illegal bookmakers like Ruby's had opened World Cup betting services, Tommy Hawke did not intend to make a fortune by betting on football, because he only remembered that the champion in 1982 was the Italian team, and he had no idea about the specific games, scores, and so on.
He just tried to take out fifty dollars per game, called a Las Vegas betting company, and bet on Italy's three group stage games, thinking that he could win a dozen dollars per game as part-time salary. In Tommy Hawke's view, Italy was the ultimate champion of this World Cup. Even if it was impossible to win all three games in the group stage, two wins and one loss should not be a problem.
As a result, the damn Italy just played three games and drew all three.
Leaving the fate of advancing or going home to be decided by other opponents in the same group is fine, this is very Italian.
The Italian team's strange performance made Tommy Hawke not only fail to earn pocket money, but also lose 150 yuan. By the way, Wilson, Green and others who had chosen to follow the trend and bet on him because they saw him as a child, now believe again that he is his father's biological child.
The money earned before is now safely deposited in the bank. After deducting the handling fees, taxes, and the interest owed to the bank by Melanie, Tommy and Melanie's two hundred boxes are left with exactly ten thousand dollars. Adding the money earned from Dad's one hundred boxes, the Hawke family now has a savings of fifteen thousand dollars.
Tony has already started renovating his room, painting it pink and building a desk and wardrobe in preparation for bringing Bethea back.
Yes, the money was enough to bring Bethea back, just waiting for the court date.
Although Dad is still working odd jobs and Tony has not yet graduated, at least everything is moving in the right direction for this family. The only problems that bother Tommy Hawke are college and that damn Italy!
One hundred and fifty dollars! The only time he tried to cheat after traveling through time and space, relying on his memories of his previous life to earn some pocket money, he was completely ripped off by the damn Italy with three draws!
"Good afternoon, Miss Farrell ." Tommy took a deep breath in the corridor to adjust his mood, put Italy out of his mind, knocked gently on the open door, and greeted Ottilia Farrell who was talking to other students inside.
"Good afternoon, Tommy." Otilia greeted Tommy, then looked at the boy in front of her: "Sean, you can go now. I appreciate you chatting with me, but I have to start working. Thank you for letting me know that you can't even spell the word astronaut, but you have a great dream of becoming the first person to land on Mars."
The boy named Sean was not angry at all. He just smiled and stood up to say goodbye: "Ms. Farrell, so where should I go to study?"
"Buy a set of Lego Mars sets. That may be your only chance to land on Mars." Otilia Farrell said to Sean speechlessly.
After sending Sean away, Otilia shrugged and looked at Tommy Hawke: "Now that the results are out, you need to tell me your plans for the future, Tommy, so that I can give you some advice, such as what major you want to study, what kind of job you want to do in the future, which state you want to study in, etc. Talk to me."
"Give me a scholarship to the top-ranked university with the lowest tuition?" Tommy Hawke said to Otilia Farrell.
Otilia Farrell didn't respond. She stared at Tommy for a few seconds before asking, "What are you talking about?"
"I don't care what major I choose, but the school must be ranked as high as possible, and I can get a scholarship to relieve the pressure. For example, if Princeton is willing to give me a scholarship, it would be no problem for me to study its excavator repair major."
"Tommy, Princeton doesn't have the major you mentioned." Otilia Farrell sighed, "You need to think about it carefully. What are your plans for the summer vacation? You should know that your resume currently does not have enough impressive social practice activities and extracurricular sports activities. Good universities prefer high school students with a sense of social responsibility, leadership skills and all-round ability."
"I'm paying attention to some summer sports camps. As for social practice activities, I'm planning to volunteer at a marathon in Boston to raise funds for charity, such as setting up the venue and delivering water?" Tommy Hawke thought for a moment and spoke.
Applying to a university in the United States is very troublesome. In addition to transcripts, you also need letters of recommendation, a resume, a personal statement, various supporting materials to prove your abilities other than academics, and so on.
"OK, which university did the founder of that charity organization graduate from? You will choose the university based on his letter of recommendation, right?" Ottilia nodded and then asked.
Tommy Hawke shook his head. "I don't know. Shouldn't my recommendation letter be written by the principal and my teacher?"
"But when it comes to social practice activities... When I was in high school, my classmates would all participate in social activities, and the initiators of social activities were often alumni of their favorite universities. They would of course write recommendation letters and carefully explain to their alma mater how you performed in social activities. This is a plus for applicants. If your family participates in social activities together, it will make the university more satisfied. Family relationships are often one of the reasons why prestigious universities consider students." Ottilia Farrell said.
Tommy Hawke looked at Ottilia Farrell. He had only heard that many prestigious schools would accept additional letters of recommendation. For example, if a celebrity or well-known politician from their own school wrote a letter to recommend a high school student, the chances of that high school student being admitted to the university would certainly be higher than those of students who only prepared regular letters of recommendation.
But where can I find such an organization whose organizer is an alumnus of a prestigious school, and then ask him to provide an additional letter of recommendation?
"There's still plenty of time, Tommy. Think about the university and major you like. You're smart, so you can definitely do it. Or talk to your family and let them give you some ideas, such as which social activities are more suitable for you."
“I felt like the college wouldn’t like the family social activities my family proposed.”
"Why? How can you be sure that the university won't like it? Maybe your family's idea just happens to suit the taste of a certain university." Ottilia was a little dissatisfied with Tommy Hawke's attitude of denying his family, and reminded him.
Tommy Hawke looked at Miss Farrell, who knew nothing about his family, and spoke in despair:
"The last time my dad invited me to a social event, the whole family went to a sperm donation company to sell tadpoles. Later, he changed his mind and only took my brother with him. He asked me to get a college admission letter and go alone again, because that way I might be able to sell it at a high price because I have been educated. If you think this social event will be of interest to any university, I can go and donate now. Then, all three men in the Hawke family received donation certificates."
After being stunned for more than ten seconds, Otilia tried to calm herself down: "Are there no other social activities? Such as charity fundraising, community activities, etc.?"
"Yes, my dad tried to raise money from other neighbors a few days ago, claiming that I would be admitted to college and bring honor to the community . This social activity successfully earned me dozens of middle fingers from my neighbors, as well as endless compliments starting with "F."
Otilia took a sip of water to calm down for a few seconds, then said to Tommy Hawke, "It's best not to include the word family in your resume. If you still want to get an admission letter, this is the most important advice I can give you at this moment."
