This month, schools across the country have released their admissions decisions for the Class of 2024. My Instagram and TikTok accounts are flooded with students posting about the number of schools they were accepted into, crying and jumping up and down with excitement that they will be heading to their dream school this August. My path to college wasn't like that. With a really uncommon major, my choices for college were really limited, especially with wanting to stay within a few hours of home. Combine that with a rejection from the school of my dreams, it was pretty hard for me to get excited about college. The last few months of my senior year left me jealous of people who were going to their top choice schools, ones that were extremely prestigious and hard to get into. I felt that by going to a state school, even if it was out of state, I was somehow less accomplished than people going to the Ivy League.

But that wasn't even reality. The truth was, my school is regarded very highly nationally, and it had an amazing program for my major. The only thing that was making me regret my decision was, and still is, social media. I felt that by having to go to a certain school for the career I want rather than choosing and being accepted by my dream school, I was getting less of the incredibly happy, fulfilling, best-years-of-your-life, college experience. And now, a year later, seeing these social media posts still make me doubt my decision. I constantly feel like I should be going somewhere with better name recognition, or somewhere with more school spirit on game days, or more picture-perfect, Instagram-worthy events.

If I could give one piece of advice to the Class of 2024, it would be: you don't have to have your dream experience to have a great experience. Too much emphasis is put on "dream schools" and the typical college life. It is okay to be rejected. It is okay to wish certain things about your school were better. It is okay to go to a school purely for financial or major/career reasons. I might daydream about how my life would differ if I had gone farther away for school, or to an Ivy, or to a school with a winning football team, but I know that my life is bigger than a school. I think we all need a reminder sometimes that social media is more curated than ever, and that college admissions or rejections can never dictate what someone's experience or quality of life will be like come August. I've come to love my school, and my experience can never be lessened by anyone else's social media tags or preconceived notions. I hope the Class of 2024 will love theirs as well.