My school likes to kick us out as soon as finals are over. Finals consisted of looking at slides while  throwing clothes into a box and frantically looking up storage hours. Here is a hint to all of you: Do not put all your books in one box. Because who is going to be carrying that sucker around? That’s right. You. Well, and me, since I seem to repeat this mistake every year. I also get back pain around this time of year. Gee, I wonder why.

Freshmen, congratulations on surviving your first year! High schoolers, don’t worry, I make it sound worse than it is. As I was speaking with a friend that is graduating, she said, “College is like fantasy land.” So, freshmen, you have 3-4 years left of fantasy land. High schoolers, I think you’re going to like college. Why is it fantasy land, you ask? I won’t tell you specifically, but will once again quote my mysterious friend, “…You’ll know why.” Before she walked away, she looked into my eyes and whispered, “You’re going to be a senior. Fantasy land is going to end soon for you.” I refuse to think about that right now. I refuse.

For those that got rejected from your dream schools, I know it hurts. My dream school was not Amherst at all. It was Stanford. I think the look on my face was a combination of “AUGH!”  and “Oh no, don’t look at me, I’m about to cry,” because my high school counselor was staring at me from a safe distance. But even though I didn’t get into Stanford, I am not unhappy with Amherst. Guys, it’s not the end of the world if you don’t get into your dream school. Maybe you wanted to get into the same school as your friends, maybe you were in love with your dream college, but hey, to be honest, chances are, you and your friends will make other friends and it’s probably better for you to split up and meet people rather than stick to yourselves. It’s also entirely possible that you will come to love whatever college choice you finally make. Just because you didn’t get into your first choice, don’t shut yourself off to the possibilities.