By Jonathan More
Managing Editor
Last week, while mulling over my college binder full of application timelines, scholarship info and essay prompts, something powerful happened to me.
As I began typing the words “Common App Essay,” I paused.
The reality of the situation shocked me: It was really happening … I was applying to college.
On the surface, this statement may seem obvious. But in that 10- second reflection, it was as if I felt a whole new world of opportunities, adventures and experiences begin to captivate me.
College is finally a tangible life coming into view.
Images of the pleasures and struggles of dorm life are replacing memories of yellow buses and school plays. Slowly but surely, I am realizing how far I’ve come, how much I’ve grown, and that the four-year period where it all happened is now coming to an end.
I would be lying if I said it wasn’t scary.
What is truly amazing about this feeling, however, is how exhilarated it has made me.
I encourage my fellow seniors to cherish the next seven months – the panic, the laughs, the stress, the friendships – all the same, all of it.
The course of my life is approaching a deciding moment, and the eventual independence and responsibility that comes along with being an adult is starting to set in.
No more wake up calls in the form of my mother, nudging me to get dressed. Come this fall, my diet of sustenance may suddenly shift to one of Ramen noodles and Red Bull. My clothes will be more un-ironed than usual, my hair less combed than necessary, my eyes more exhausted than ever before.
Yet, despite how surreal and frightening this whole experience may be, I’m reveling in the emotions of every day without second guessing anything.
As I begin my final lap around this journey in life, I can only hope to race through the ribbon with my head held high, my arms outstretched and a smile on my face.
The clock is ticking, and the pressure is on.
The best days are yet to come…