College was the start of a series of rejections for me. Nothing high school taught me could have prepared me for it. Day after day it seemed like I was getting shut down. I auditioned for the Redcoat Marching Band, and didn't make it in. I auditioned for the Mock Dawgs, and didn't make it in. I applied to and interviewed for different jobs and organizations, and most of them were no's. I'm still getting no's to this day. I had spent the last four years in high school getting everything I wanted. I was the best of the best, but not anymore. Not in college.

I couldn't understand why I wasn't good enough for these things. I deserved these things. Or I thought I did. Truth is, I didn't. Not in the slightest. But whether or not I deserved them wasn't the question. The question was why I didn't get them. I had to force myself to take a step back. Ask myself why I didn't have a good audition or interview, and use that knowledge to better myself. Ask myself why I wanted this so bad. Was it something I wanted just for the title? Just to build relationships? Or was it really my passion? Nine times out of ten a rejection told me something about myself, and made me a better person. I learned a lot of myself with every "no" thrown my way. I learned that yes, I love playing music, but more as a hobby. I learned that I was not ready to hold certain leadership positions. I learned how to be open and honest with not only others, but myself, about what I need in my life.

I'm sure you've all heard the saying "when one door closes another door opens". I know I have. And like most of you probably have, I just brushed it to the side. My freshman year of college is where a bunch of doors started closing, and that's when I truly began to understand the meaning. Looking back, everything that I thought I wanted to join would've taken up too much time in my schedule. I probably would've ended up hating things that I now love. I wouldn't have had the time to be in the things I'm in now, the things I love now. One "no" just a few months ago led me down a path to bigger and better things. Rejection to the things I thought I wanted was the best thing that ever happened to me.

I thought I knew it all. I thought I had it all figured out. I thought I knew who I was going to be friends with and what activities I would be involved in. I couldn't have been more wrong, but I also couldn't be happier about it.