Dear Senior,

I know these last couple of months have been some of the most nerve-wracking, tiring, and terrifying, but I promise you it’s all almost over. And while, in this moment, all you can think about is decision day for your dream school, everything is going to work out, in the end, no matter what the decision is.

A little over a year ago I was exactly in your shoes. I had a dream school and, honestly, that was really the only place I wanted to go. I researched it constantly, I thought about what dorm I would live in and I wondered what clothes I was going to buy right when I got in. The problem in my case was that I put all my eggs in one basket and I got rejected.

I was heartbroken. I never experienced any pain as intensifying and terrible as that one. I didn’t really tell anyone what or how I was feeling, but they had already sensed that I was devastated. I’m sure, like any terrible heartbreak, it takes a few days, weeks, or even months to get over it and move on. But instead of sulking for the next week and feeling sorry for myself, I decided to look at my other options.

I know that the immense amount of work you put into high school for this one dream to come true is all that you can ever think about in this moment, and I completely understand. It was all that was on my mind, to be honest, even if I didn’t always express it. The reason I didn’t always express it was because I didn’t like having to face reality.

In other words, I never wanted to talk about it because then it just became real and I knew I was shortly going to be faced with either a really happy day, or, at the time it would feel like, one of the worst and most demoralizing days of my life.

What you really need to understand if you have your eyes set on one school and one school only is that everything will definitely fall into place. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, and I know that while getting rejected from your dream school isn’t the ideal situation for anyone, you’re going to end up where you’re meant to end up.

You’re going to have an amazing college experience whether you end up at your second-choice school or even one of your last back up schools. And if you end up getting into your dream school, congratulations! Your hard work paid off and you’re more than deserving to have been admitted.

Overall, it’s more than okay to have dreams. I honestly encourage having a dream school, it motivates you to want to try as hard as you can in order to attain whatever goal you have in mind. But since dreams don’t always work out for everyone, just know that no matter what happens come decision day, life will certainly go on and you will soon be okay even if it seems too painful to move on from it at the moment.

So, seniors, good luck moving forward. Just remember just about a year ago I was exactly in your shoes awaiting all of my college decisions just like you are right now. While you’re facing an immense amount of anxiety and stress, it’s all almost over. I promise.