Boy, do I remember being in your shoes! Around this same time last year is all but a single endless, anxious day. I had completed all my applications, sent in all of my transcripts, finished the SAT forever, and now I had to wait… and wait… and wait! I had done my part, pleaded my case, and said all that I could. Now, it was up to those admissions offices to make their decision.
In finishing nearly a dozen different applications, came a sense of relief and calmness because I knew – or thought – that the hard part was over. I was mistaken. I felt tortured waking up every day not hearing any word, not knowing any news. But going to school that last semester of my senior year cruised on by because I knew that this was it. I didn’t know where I would be in the fall, but I knew it wasn’t there! This knowledge made the wait a little easier to bear.
With almost two months of waiting before me, I quickly had to find ways to cope with not knowing where I would spend the next four years of my academic life. What new city would I be in? What academic programs would be available to me? Will there be a beach nearby? Would I get into any of my reach schools? I couldn’t last; the questions were already racing through my mind.
I realized that I had to keep myself busy, occupied keeping my mind off the wait. Although it was always in the back of mind, being involved with more activities, hanging out with friends, devoting more time to my studies all helped me to cope with not yet knowing the future. I began to understand that I couldn’t race time by worrying, but I could use the extra time to be productive. That’s just what I did. I volunteered more with the clubs and organizations that I was involved in on campus and around the community; I participated more in my church choirs; and met up with a lot of those friends that I lost communication with as we buried ourselves in applications.
That was the time I earnestly enjoyed my senior year. The senior project was over and, oh yeah, I was done applying to college. I took the time to do the things that I wanted to and bask in the realization that this would be the last time that I would spend another year in high school – how bittersweet the thought. So, take this time to enjoy your senior year!