SENIORITIS

Emilia Djordjevic

I applaud you, seniors, we’ve made it this far! From the countless applications to the teacher recommendations and transcript orders, all you’ve accomplished is tidied and set. It’s up to the college gods now to determine whether those efforts were done so in vain. 

It’s hard to take in what we have yet to face as college applicants: the rejections or acceptances that decide our next steps, and the stress that follows both before and after these outcomes. Even with most decisions a mere month away, the pressure to succeed remains within us, our fears and anxieties ingrained in our very breath, in the way we perceive ourselves and each other. We are anxious to know what the future holds, and scared to be left in the dark about just one of the many major moments of our stories. 

Yet this time — like countless others — will come to pass, once you’ve joined the profession of your dreams or started a new passion or career. Remember, this is simply a giant leap everyone must take, in a world ever-changing and growing, so isn’t it better to rise to the occasion together? 

And so let’s reflect as we wait, and reason our way through this. One: rejections have their own charms. It can be as exhilarating to wait for as any acceptance, though with the added burn, which is a downgrade. But despite this, with every letdown comes a reward or triumph you’ll have to enjoy sometime, someplace else. Two: your value is weighed by what you make of yourself. College entrances, test scores, SAT and ACT exams, are all short-term results. Don’t allow them to define the whole you. For all that, we deserve to love ourselves for more than a figure on a page. 

Three: we must consider that there are only two paths your story with each college will result in. There is only an open course or a dead end, a route which will either lead you on a wondrous ride through the initial steps of adulthood or finish in passing defeat. Regardless, no matter how many colleges make these roads possible, recognize there is no shame in the name of universities who offer you their hand. It can be two, five, 10 who take you in — you can only choose one. Bear pride in your achievements, rejections and all. 

Be proud, be strong, be you.