FOLLOW?

As a rising senior in high school, I am attacked with the panicky anxiety I got in fifth grade when I tried out for the talent show (which I did not get in) when I think about colleges (which I will get in!).

I have worked hard throughout high school, and have managed to maintain a good average and several leadership positions. When I entered freshman year, I expected to go to my home school, until I decided to challenge myself after sophomore year. No longer was I okay with just an A; the nuances mattered, and so did the numbers. After hours of research and lurking on College Confidential (no shame), I have decided to apply to two Ivy League schools, one of which seems nearly impossible to get in. I am the girl next door--sweet, but only fabulous in my eyes. Damn right I'm fabulous; I mean, look at me! Just kidding. Don't look at me... That makes me nervous. Hi.

Although my chances are slim to none, considering that I have not had research published or have not been ranked worldwide in a sport, I am still going to try. I am going to try! And that is all that matters.

Your chances of getting into your dream school if you don't apply go down to the ultimate integer 0%. Your chances of getting into your dream school if you do apply are much, much higher.

There is a governor's honors program in my state, and my teacher nominated me for Social Studies. I went into the interview with full expectations, but I did not get in. It was my first time ever in my life to have received rejection. I had never been rejected by the boy I like or the course I wanted to take. Yeah. It sucked the soul out of me. Which is stupid.

Let's be completely honest here. Some people will never like you. You will never like some people. There's no clicking. There isn't going to be a clicking. The reality in life is that you will never be able to please anyone. ANYONE. The only person you can please is yourself. Don't convince anyone to like you, unless it is yourself.

That being said, we will ALL be rejected at some point in our life. There is always going to be one reason: You guys simply were incompatible. Incompatible time, lives, families, whatever. And the dream school I fell in love with could simply just look good in print and in one-hour sessions. But adcoms know better. They want you to see the school the way they saw it when they attended their first day of school. Adcoms have been though every application, and they know which one will grow and which one will stagnate at their school. And let's be honest here--you are not going to enjoy a brand-name college if you do not have the motivation to study or to maintain a consistent academic discipline.

Adcoms don't look at who you are, but what and how you would contribute to the school. They probably liked you as a person, and shook their head because they simply had to.

It does not ever, ever, ever mean that we are not good enough! Call it what you will: pure misfortune, bad moods, bad transcript, incompatibility, bad timing--no number will EVER define you. In fact, a couple of essays and a few sheets of paper are so subjective.

Accept it, learn from it, move on. Do not let yourself be diminished; there are so many opportunities that will make life unexpected and interesting and worth living.

Accept it, learn from it, move on. We all have something to share and contribute, and our purpose in life must not be taken away by a simple denial! We must have resilience!

We must work hard to be the person we want to be!

I love you all very, very much.

Love (love love love love),
Teresa

B-plus. The girl who got a b-plus is that girl in the middle of the road: She's solid, not necessarily the meat in a sandwich, but definitely not the crusts. She was probably the lettuce, unwanted and most likely to get stuck in your teeth. Strictly middle class.