Senior year is the probably the biggest of all of our high school years. It’s a time of making important decisions that determine what happens for the rest of our lives.

A majority of the Watertown High School students, including myself, have decided to apply to college. The dream is to apply to any college we desire and automatically get accepted with a full scholarship. Well, that’s just a complete fantasy unless you have the highest GPA, play all varsity sports, are president of all the clubs, and have every teacher adore you.

Getting into college is much harder when you’re not the perfect student. 

Throughout the year I secretly loathed the kids who were accepted to their first-choice colleges early on. They had the fear of rejection lifted off their chests while I and others are still pulling out our hair and jumping through rings of fire to get into our desired college — or any college.

I don’t care that you only got a 1900 on your SAT instead of your perfect score. Here, use my 1300 to wipe away your tears.

I really don’t care that you’re having a tough time picking out a college when all your colleges accepted you. The truth is I don’t hate you, I envy you and your carelessness for the feelings of average students. Feelings about being faced with going to college or having no future. The feeling of not getting into the right college because your grades are too low equals never receiving a decent job. Apparently, high school defines the life we live for the rest of our lives.

Stressed and tired over applying to college, one forgets that we must work on a massive essay for English to determine if we pass high school. The dreaded Senior Thesis Paper needs to be finished in a few short months. There’s also the kissing up to teachers and practically begging for a letter of recommendation. Heck, we’ll sell our souls if it means getting into an Ivy League school.

There is a hard truth of feeling like nothing if a college rejects you because you’re not good enough.

Rejection is the worst feeling in the world, but it’s even worse when it determines your future.

In the meantime, we have parents breathing down our necks with a blazing fury to be the best of the whole clan of students in the world.

Every student would cry if we weren’t so tough — and some of you have cried. To kick, scream, cry because it’s frustrating, and we’re tired.

Please have mercy on our souls so we may go forth on with our lives and leave behind high school. To become leaders and dreamers in college. To find our way through classes so we may enjoy them and pick careers that we love or hate to support us for the rest of our whole lives.

Even if all colleges reject you and spit in your face, please do not succumb to their rejections. Keep kicking until that door is wide open.

–Feb. 14, 2014–