It’s strange to envision myself not seeing the same people I’ve seen for the past 12 years. To not be able to see my friend group every day and go to classes with them. To live with a stranger in a dorm. College for many is a fresh start and a place to redefine who you are, which at a young age, is a lot to decide. In college, you’ll have the ability to meet new people and take classes that could lead to what you want to do in the future. I’m not completely sure what it is I want to do and I don’t think I will for a couple of years. The aspect of college can be both scary and freeing simultaneously. Depending on your circumstances and your life some may look forward to the change and some might not. Regardless of where you may stand, college is a chance for us to figure out what it is that we want in our lives, what we stand for and what we want to prioritize. I am excited to meet new people, further my interests, and discover new ones in college, but I know that I’ll also miss my friends and seeing them every day. 

During the college application process, I was confused and unsure if I was filling out the applications correctly, which was one of my main stressors senior year. When you’re doing applications and waiting for acceptance letters, the process feels so long. For me, this period of waiting caused a lot of uncertainty over my application, like wondering whether or not my personal essay was where I wanted it to be or if it was even good enough. I honestly kept putting them off thinking that I had way more time than I did to apply to schools and write my essay. I didn’t realize how quickly the deadlines would come up and that I would struggle as much as I did during the process. It’s helpful to have some sort of guideline to follow when applying to colleges rather than having no preference at all. There are over 25,000 universities in the world and you obviously can’t apply to them all, so having an indicator as to what kind of school you would like helps to narrow down the applications you send out. 

I’m definitely glad that the application process is done and that I no longer have to stress about sending out any more. But I suggest starting the process early so it’s not as stressful and that the materials you send, such as supplemental essays, will be less rushed. There are a lot of components that go into college applications that most don’t realize, mostly depending on your family and your living situation. So regardless of your situation, it’s better to get it done fast so you don’t have to worry about it. But during the process, I realized I was putting it off a lot because I was anxious about whether or not my application was good enough and refused to send it in because of my uncertainty. The process of transitioning to college and applying to them is definitely a weird and difficult process to navigate through.