College admissions. To some it is what determines how their life will pan out, demonstrating their young life’s work and what they have been able to accomplish in their 17-18 years of life so far. Since fall semester, numerous students have taken time out of their day, whether in class or at home, writing down their thoughts, their past, and also the adversities they may have overcome. Either originally choosing colleges themselves, reach schools, safety schools, top choices. It is easily complex and confusing, yet it is done every single year; a process that no one can truly learn from, but only experience themselves. There’s a sort of unique anxiety, of whether one is good enough for a big prestigious school, or even for the UC line of schools, that seems to be the norm here. Nonetheless, the process continues, and the waiting begins. The thought of an admissions letter excites some and broods over others, the latter for myself. But there is no predicting the future, just the waiting and anxious feelings. And then the decision arrives.

It’s interesting to see how much power a few letters have to affect someone’s feelings entirely, a sense of accomplishment over an acceptance, and a bittersweet feeling over a rejection. I can’t speak much about the feeling of acceptance, especially from a top school, but there seems to be a unique feeling over rejection; not being good enough, and voices in your head reminiscing about taking school more seriously in the past. All I can truly mention may be obvious to some, but these admissions are just a small part of your vast life so far, and we all have different paths, respective to us. Wherever you go, it might be the right choice in the end, and I can only hope for the best for future students, to not obsess over academic perfection, and enjoy yourself in the present.