To The High School Seniors Soon to Be Receiving College Acceptances,

This is the time to soak it all in. You’re going to be receiving more and more college admittance or unfortunate rejection letters if you haven’t already. It’s the time to celebrate and look back on your accomplishments so far and forget those tests you did horrible on. Before you know it, it’s going to be May and you’re going to need to commit to a school and then before you know it, graduation will be upon you.

Enjoy the time you have now in the place you’re most comfortable with the people you love, because in the blink of an eye, nothing will be the same. One thing I wish I had known was how fast senior year goes by. It seems all too soon that you’re applying to college and then even sooner after are you hearing back.

For most, everyone has their heart set on their dream school. I know for sure that I did. The wait to hear back from schools can eat you alive and for some, I know the thought of wishing they did early decision or early action runs through their head. Take a breath! It’s okay that you didn’t! I went through the process of doing early decision with the assumption that it would increase my chances of getting into my dream school. I ended up getting rejected and of course, it was awful, but it led me to the right school in the end.

In all of this, keep your head up and think positively. The more you talk down about yourself, your grades, your extracurricular involvement, etc, the less fun and the more stressful the waiting period becomes. You are only as great as what you put into your high school experience. The waiting is by far the worst part of the process, but keep smiling and it will fly by! Enjoy the next few months because before you know it, you are headed on your way!