ALMOST made it (?only to fail?)

senior432
Mon, 07 Feb 2011 22:48:36 +0000

Hmm does anyone know if this will 99.99% keep me out? I’d just like to know now.

Nevertheless, it has been quite a long road up to this point! Whatever happens, at least I can say (to be unabashedly cliche), that I have no regrets (ok I have one: thinking I could do everything and taking that audition)! I have honestly had an enjoyable high school career. So many of my classmates have given up their entire lives to the college admissions process. That’s not to say that I didn’t get caught in the shuffle; I’ve had my share of times during which I got the same hours of sleep in a week as my friends in one night. But throughout, I have earnestly tried to keep things in perspective and have fun.

Strangely enough, though, I have found the entire process to be almost cathartic. We all got the chance, through our essays, to reflect on who we are, to be forced to find ourselves amidst a sea of standardization. Yes, the process was awful, but I feel that I have emerged with a much stronger sense of self. It was so refreshing to have a chance to think of new ideas beyond a textbook.

The pursuit of Harvard, for me, evolved from a college search to an aim for achievement. For me, Harvard was Michael Sandel and Leonard Bernstein, a place of promise where I could be my ridiculous type-A self amidst people I felt a connection to. It was the ideology that, yes, I could make something more of myself. And for that, I am thankful.

I might not get into Harvard. It doesn’t matter. Either way, Harvard has taught me the greatest lesson of my high school career: to enjoy the journey. Cliche again? You bet. No acceptance or rejection will take away the memories I’ve made- the ones of bringing coffee to my first period class on exam days, of having the nerve to try out leadership roles, of actually learning difficult material that I otherwise would have refused to learn, and in turn learning that I could try out anything. So for that I have only appreciation, and with a tinge of reluctance, I can only say that I am content with having become a better person in the process. Thank you, Harvard