This is part of our monthly series 'Mission: Accepted,' in partnership with Minds Matter, which chronicles the lives of three students as they apply for college in their senior year.
High school's over... and it's bittersweet. No more waking up at 6 a.m. No more whining about having neither a lab nor a library. No more struggling to figure out what to do in between classes. But I'll miss the "study" sessions with my closest friends of the past four years. I'll miss senior privileges and the hallways filled with familiar faces. I'll miss high school. Don't get me wrong, though -- I'm still looking extremely excited about college!
I'm currently using RoomSync, a campus app on Facebook, to help me find a roommate. It suggests suitable people based on your interests and preferences (i.e., messiness, smoking). This is great because it means I'll be living with someone who is not a complete stranger. I'll get an idea of her lifestyle, and vice versa, and we'll be able to meet before school even starts; that should help make it easy for us to live together peacefully.
As for what I want to be when I grow up, I'm not as worried about that anymore. I can be whatever I want to be, and I don't have to decide right now. My friend majored in English and is currently working for Donald Trump's company. My assistant principal graduated from Stony Brook with a mathematics major. I just need to find something I love and excel in it. It's a nice feeling to know that -- especially because lately I've been wanting to work for MTV, become a nutritionist, or be the next Tina Fey. I can't wait to explore my options in college and start figuring out what to do with my life.
I'm also looking forward to my first football game. I know nothing about the sport, but that's not why I want to go. From countless movies, I've learned that school spirit hits its peak at football games, and the cheers are deafening when the home team wins. I experienced something like this when my high school's boys' volleyball team won the City Championships this year. Every clique came together to cheer on the team. That's what I want out of my college experience: to have fun, to bond and to be united with my fellow students.
On another note, I am proud to announce the beginning of MUD, a YouTube vlog channel about college life that three of my friends and I have created. The four of us are very close, but we are all attending different schools in the fall. I thought that this channel would be a great way for us to catch up and stay in touch. Plus, it's a great way for others to get a sense of what college is really like. You can find the channel here. Our first video will be up in the last week of August, which is when colleges typically begin classes. Make sure to subscribe!
Finally, I want to give a special thanks to ALL my readers for your support! This has been an indescribable journey, from thoughtfully deciding where to apply, to anxiously filling out applications, to getting accepted at Stony Brook and dreaming of the beginning of my adult life. I'm glad you could share it with me, and I hope you will continue to do so through MUD!