You never quite know when something you write is going to resurface, and it seems as if something written by John F. Kennedy is now circulating on social media 87 years after being written.

It was Kennedy’s college admission letter sent to Harvard University and on Twitter, it has gone viral. That doesn’t mean that everyone loves it, and in fact, many people are criticizing the document.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The document was written on April 23, 1935. If you want to see the physical copy, you can go to the John F. Kennedy presidential museum and library in Boston, Massachusetts.

The prompt to the letter was, “Why do you wish to come to Harvard?” It’s a simple question, but Kennedy’s answer is what has people talking.

Most people are accustomed to hearing about Kennedy’s great speeches so they are underwhelmed at what the 17-year-old wrote in order to gain entrance for his advanced education.

Photo: flickr/GPA Photo Archive

He wrote: “The reasons that I have for wishing to go to Harvard are several. I feel that Harvard can give me a better background and a better liberal education than any other university.

I have always wanted to go there, as I have felt that it is not just another college, but is a university with something definite to offer. Then too, I would like to go to the same college as my father. To be a ‘Harvard man’ is an enviable distinction, and one that I sincerely hope I shall attain.”

Despite his skills at writing, he ended up going to Harvard and graduated cum laude with a bachelor of arts in government.

Many people had something to say about the letter and very few of them had a kind word. Despite what he wrote that day, his family continues to be a legacy and he has influenced generations of people.
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