Oh, The Places You’ll Go!
May 1 is coming: it is the day that seniors must declare intent to a university of their choosing. At the start of the year, we slaved over college and scholarship applications; we have received acceptances and rejections and though there are a number of factors to consider, we must now make a decision as to where we will be spending the next four years of our lives, and make it quickly. Picking a school will be the biggest decision that most of us have ever made; it may come down to finances, location or even the name-value. But ultimately, it is each of us that will deal with the choice we make.
However, just as the world does not end with every high school problem, it will not end with whichever university we choose to attend. Remember that, for the most part, no choice we make regarding college is set in stone. There are countless options and each of us will end up exactly where we are supposed to so long as we open our minds to every opportunity.
As we prepare to embark on the next chapter of our lives, we feel as though we have to make the ‘perfect choice’ right away. But this is not the case: those lucky enough to get into their dream schools could find that it is not what they expected. At this juncture, one is forced to pick a path: make the best of the situation for the time that remains or explore new possibilities elsewhere. Eventually, we learn that not all the choices we make are the right ones; but it is when we let our minds linger over those roads not taken that we step back from the progress we have made. We must instead be prepared to change as needed.
The decisions do not end once we decide what to do after graduation, but have in fact only just begun. We will make countless other major choices, but it is now that we can begin to learn not to dwell on what goes wrong and focus on what we can change.
Possibilities exist when we give them the chance to. Getting into a highly ranked school means nothing if you are not able to adapt to that school’s culture. Happiness is not derived from the school you attend, but rather from the experiences we choose to be a part of.
Though we have been guaranteed admission, we are not guaranteed happiness. We must do this for ourselves, wherever we are.
