When I was first applying to colleges during my senior year of high school I was admittedly not putting enough of an effort into my applications. The reason for not putting the energy needed was a mix of personal problems going on at the time with family as well as this egotistic mindset that I would not have a problem getting into a school of my choice. However, rejection came as a slap in the face for me when I was turned down by the three schools that I actually had an interest in. In fact, the only school I was accepted into was the one who gave me the free application in Philadelphia (near where my mom had just moved to at the time). My mom of course was very excited because to her this meant I would be moving to Pennsylvania where her and my siblings had just relocated. However, for myself, something did not seem right. I was so shaken by what had happened and essentially I was going to accept the offer from the university given that it was the only university that offered me admission. Yet, given the apprehension I had and the intuition that this school did not feel right for me I decided to explore more options. A few of my very good friends from high school who graduated a year before opted to go to community college in California (the state next to where I grew up), and seeing how happy they were and that they had a solid plan to transfer after two years I decided to look more into the option myself. Upon exploring this option and realizing that after a year or two I could reapply to universities as a second chance I decided to take the chance. My mom, of course, was completely infuriated, but I knew that I had to make this decision on behalf of what I knew what was best for me. So, I enrolled in classes between Irvine Valley College and Saddleback College and was able to live with family not too far away for my first year of college. Given that I had learned about rejection the hard way, I was determined to work hard and prove that I had what it took to excel in any university. In the end, the hard work paid off because I applied and was accepted into one of my dream schools for the following school year – Boston University. While what I did for my education is not for everyone, the moral of the story is to not let rejection take control of your life. While being rejected comes with some emotional setbacks, it is not the end of the world. You can either let it eat away at you and restrain you from moving forward, or you can let it motivate you to work even harder and to prove to yourself and everyone around you that you have what it takes – if not more.
