To my High School Guidance Counselor,

It's been almost seven years since I walked into your office as a senior in high school. It was the week that every senior had to make an appointment with you to talk about the universities that we wanted to apply to and the ones that we had already applied to. I had my lists in hand and a couple copies of the acceptance letters that I had already received. I remember walking into your office proud of myself and expecting to just hear the same thing that you told everyone else. "The size of the envelopes doesn't actually matter", "You may not get into your favorite school on the first go around, but don't give up" and so on and so on. But that didn't happen. No, you see what happened when I walked into your office was much more soul-crushing for a young, naive high schooler.

You told me that I shouldn't bother applying to public universities. And that if I did apply, I shouldn't expect to be accepted because the likelihood of my acceptance was slim to none, and not to even bother applying for scholarships because I would not get them outside of a private university. All because my grades in science and math were not the best (which was not a secret, I was well aware of that fact).

What you did not tell me is that universities look into more than just your grades. You never told me that my loyal participation in drama club, the mentor program, and my volunteer experience would also be taken into consideration. You never told me that my volunteer work would help me get scholarships. So I lost hope. I set my mind to go to a private university, accepted the fact that I would graduate with a crippling $100,000+ in debt, and that maybe I could get my masters degree from the school that I wanted.

But something happened a few months later, I received a large envelope from UNC Charlotte. And much to my surprise, I was accepted. For the first time that year, I had hope. You see I thought you were basically this person who could tell me exactly what colleges were thinking, I never gave you any credit for putting your own bias into the equation.

But let me tell you, the moment that I handed you a copy of my acceptance letter was one of the proudest moments of my life. The obvious shock on your face was a tad insulting, but it was the first time in my life, that I was able to show someone who had no faith in me that I was able, that I was more than you credit me for. I proceeded to be accepted into more public and private universities and officially chose my university. I chose UNC Charlotte. I was going to be a proud 49er! But your voice, your words stayed in the back of my mind.

The Monday after my graduation, I rushed back to the school and asked you to send my final transcript to a private school. I told you that I felt that was a better decision for my future, but that wasn't true. The truth is that I heard you over and over and over telling me that I wouldn't get in, but that turned into you can't do it and you won't succeed. So I went to a private school. It only took two weeks for me to realize that I made the wrong decision and withdrew. I proceeded to go to my local community college and it took a while with only going part-time, working, and life being a little messy to graduate with my associate's degree.

But now, now I am in my junior year at UNC Charlotte, and I am a proud 49er. I wasn't only accepted to this university once, but twice. I beat your odds two times, but there are still times when your negativity creeps in with all of the other people and the bullies who told me and continue to tell me that I cannot succeed. That my goals are unattainable. But I'm getting to the point to where I do one of two things. I either push your voice out, or I use it for motivation. You were wrong the first time and the second time. Why should any of you be right from now on?

I don't know if you are still a guidance counselor, but if you are, I hope you are no longer telling kids that they will fail based on your biases. Instead, I hope that you are doing your job and helping students achieve their goals.

P.S. please expect a picture of me holding my diploma from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte by the end of May 2019!