When I applied to UW-Madison, my dream school, I wasn’t quite sure if I would get in. My GPA was good, but on the other hand, my ACT score wasn’t so good. I was smart, but I probably wasn’t smart enough — this was my mindset.
I didn’t know if I was capable to attend one of the top universities in the country.
I was standing in the student section, cheering on my team for one of the last times in my high school career, when I got the email: 'Your application decision has been made.' Over a third of my class had applied to UW-Madison.
Everyone was screaming, frantically opening their emails. An email that at the time was believed to decide our fate. I sat there in silence. I did not open my email. I could not tell you how many people begged me to open my email or asked me if I got in. I did not want to open an email that decided my fate in front of my peers.
That thought was overwhelming and horrifying. For the rest of the game, I thought about my chances of getting in.
Ultimately, I came to the conclusion that I might not get in. I told myself that I might not be capable and I accepted this.
It was okay. I drove myself home, while my parents drove my sisters and brother home, making a few stops to drive my sister’s friends home. I knew my parents had no idea that the application decision was out, and I knew I had a few minutes alone. I debated opening up the email in my time alone. My night was going to be ruined if I didn’t get in.
But, I decided to open it. I was going to have to face my fears at some point, so I thought I might as well get it over with. I opened my email without even looking at my phone. I was terrified. After what felt like the longest time, I told myself I would look at my phone on the count of 3. 1...2...3...
Glancing at my phone for less than a second, I saw the words “Congratulations."
I did it. The years of hard work paid off. I would make my parents proud.
I was capable.
As soon as my parents got home, I told them. They were proud. At this same moment, I told my siblings as they overheard me telling my parents. I knew they looked up to me — their big sister — all their life. Growing up there was definitely pressure to make them proud. That feeling of success — the feeling of making them proud — was an amazing feeling. I showed my family that I was capable.
The idea of going off to college and starting a new journey always seemed so far-fetched, but now it was right in front of me.
I knew I was good enough to get into UW-Madison, but I still didn’t know if I would be capable of success at one of the top universities. These thoughts lingered in my mind, but there was nothing I could really do with them. Move in day came and classes began, whether I was ready or not.
I went to my first class and was overwhelmed by the number of people in my lecture hall. When I entered each class, I was lectured on the amount of work it would take, and again, I was reminded of the academic rigor that UW-Madison demands. This all started to sound like a broken record and gave me the opposite of motivation.
As difficult as the road ahead seemed to be, I was not a quitter.
Never before had I quit in life, and this was not going to be the time. In fact, this was the time where I was supposed to work harder than I ever had before, and I knew this. The work was demanding. I didn’t know it was possible to read 100 pages a night just for one class. I had three other classes on top of that and was on the hunt for a job. I had to find a way to manage my time if I wanted to succeed. There were sleepless nights and tear-filled days. These setbacks did not mean I was a failure, but rather they meant that I was learning.
Again, I learned that I was capable.
Not only did I learn that I was capable to compete academically at UW-Madison— I learned that I am capable of anything in life.
I am capable of creating my own destiny.
Going from being a small town girl stuck on her feet to the motivated student I am today, I've learned that I am an independent woman with wings capable of taking her all over the world.