For most high school seniors, the college application process is reaching the long painful stretch of waiting for acceptances in March and April, but for me, this is over. It is such an honor to say that I am a member of Vanderbilt University's class of 2021, and such a relief to know that all of my hard work over the past four years has cumulated in this acceptance. Vanderbilt was my top school and I applied early decision to hopefully make this process easier for me down the line. It worked, and I am now committed to Vanderbilt.

Thinking over the past four years of late nights studying and early mornings asking my teachers for help, I do not regret a moment of it. I am forever grateful for my family, friends, and teachers that kept me going throughout high school. I know that taking that one extra AP class and pulling an all-nighter before an important final has gotten me to this point.

Next year, I will be living across the country, in Nashville, Tennessee, exploring a new city and starting a new life. I will be a plane ride away from my family, living with a total stranger, but I am more excited than ever. Already, my future classmates have created multiple Facebook pages and GroupMe chats to get to know each other. These complete strangers live all over the country, and even the world, but we will all be spending the next four years living in Nashville, adventuring together.

Something about leaving home seems way less scary as I chat about everything and anything with my future classmates. There is uncertainty over who I will actually be friends with a year from now, but in the moment we are all in this together.

I am more than ready to Anchor Down with the rest of the Vanderbilt Class of 2021 in August. In these next eight months before college actually begins, I know that I will make countless virtual friends, and come August we will all be together. But, with this, next August I will be leaving my friends from home for Nashville. My best friend will be in Boston, other friends will remain in California, and most still don't know where they will end up.

Starting this new adventure with new friends means separating from the friends I have spent years seeing every day, but this is just a part of growing up. I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has gotten me to this point. My next adventure in taking me to the deep south of Nashville, and Vanderbilt, I cannot wait for the next four years. In August, I will be ready to Anchor Down and explore my new home of Nashville, Tennessee.