The Beginning of the Rest of Our Lives

Technically, my first day of the rest of my life was Thursday, June 13 — the day after my graduation from high school — and the first day of my adulthood was Friday, June 14. I guess you could say it was a bit anticlimactic but, nonetheless, 18 is a big step for everyone. Even now, all I can say is “Wow” or sigh at the thought of taking my first steps into living for me, by me, and with only me to place the rules. This summer is a milestone for all of us graduates, and I can’t think of a better group to be sent off with.

Just a year ago, we were rising seniors — bright-eyed, hopeful and thinking we knew all about Stress and Drama, when we had only reached the tip of the iceberg. Some of us knowing where we wanted to go and others having no clue. And, now, we’re here — ending high school. There really aren’t words to describe how amazed I am at how time flies. In this moment, I realize that time had actually stopped for me, more so than I thought.

I don’t know anything about finances and credit, insurance, long-distance and extended stays, micro-managing my life, being treated like a full-fledged adult… So what do I do? What do you do? Worry? Get scared and become less than optimistic? Even with being overwhelmed, I wouldn’t give this moment for one minute to go back in my past. Yes, from this point on, “good enough” won’t be good enough anymore. It won’t be our dreams that define us and it won’t be what we make of those dreams. It’s what we make of the “here, now” — Be here, now. Our local realities, our insights into the world, our attempts to “be the change we want to see in the world…” — They will define the “who” and “what” we are, and, likewise, the “why” and “how” that make us rise to the top, when so many don’t make it and when others fall to the bottom. Often, leaders tell us to focus on “Mind, Body, Soul with Character” — in truth, that is your character. What we envision, what we embody and what “speaks out” our passion becomes our Character. And Character tells us “why” and “how” we become stars — and stars don’t just fall.

Ironically, I discovered that peace on Wednesday night, when my parents gave me a book from my childhood as a graduation gift: Oh, the Places You’ll Go. Like Dr. Seuss poetically explained, we will meet hang-ups and bang-ups on our way. No one said it would be easy, and it’s lonely at the top. Yet, that shouldn’t scare me. I have mountains to move; we have mountains to move. We’re dreamers, but that means more than sitting and waiting for a miracle. This is a time to celebrate the miracles we’ll make ourselves — and, in those miracles, we will form them together, just on separate mountains. You’re a mover-and-shaker, a visionary, an artist — Call me a romantic or whatever, but I know who you are. This is a chance to make a step towards taking your place among giants. Make the most of this opportunity; define the person you’ll become.

It’s here. Time to grab it

Mites '12 Alumnus to Study Abroad in Germany for a Year

As he jets off to Germany for a year through the prestigious CBYX Scholars Program, Yhan, '12, is going to be blogging about his once in a lifetime gap-year opportunity to study abroad on his new blog: Nur Alle Jubeljahre. Let's just hope that he doesn't only post 'once in a blue moon', as Germany seems like such an exciting place and we want to hear about it! Good luck, Yhan! He'll be heading to Columbia University in the fall of 2014.

Click here to read this article in La Prensa, a Floridian Spanish newspaper that features Yhan.

Destiny, maybe?

des·ti·ny  

/ˈdestinē/

Noun 1.      2. The hidden power believed to control what will happen in the future; fate.

1)      Takes a plane to the U.S., alone. Leaves family behind. Doesn’t even know proper English. Starts school at one of the top 3 worst cities of MA. Gets straight A’s the first term of school (regardless of mild depression for being far from home and not knowing English).

2)      Applies to MITES. Doesn’t submit PSAT/SAT scores. Hasn’t even heard of AP classes. Gets in. Summer’s successful.

3)      Tries to get an Internship for the following summer (money is an important fact). Finds an open application but work site is at Boston. Gets the job. Doesn’t even live in Boston. Thinks of denying the job. Gets informed that expenses and internship are paid. Plus a free trip to DC.

4)      Applies to dream school with the hope of leaving MA. Doesn’t get in. Applies to safety schools in MA. Gets in with full rides. Match schools (3 out of 4 located outside of MA) don’t seem to reply on time, except for one, which she hates (Funnily enough, the one located in MA). Starts to feel lost and thinks of taking a gap year.

5)      Decides to go to one of the safety schools. Feels miserable. Applies to scholarships regardless of full ride. Goes to visit previously  mentioned hated school which is beyond expensive. Falls in love with campus and students. Still not enough money to pay for it. Gets a scholarship that covers full cost for the next 4 years.  Commits to the no longer hated school (in MA). 

6)      Receives 3 acceptance letters 2 days after committing. All the other reach schools that seemed to be lost in space (and are locate outside of MA). Starts doubting if committing was a good choice. Receives financial award letters. None of them offered nearly as much money as the no longer hated school. Wise decision.

7)      Starts off with no friends.  Ends up with a new family. Very loved by the way. Most of the new friends are moving to the Boston area. No longer hated school is within an hour from them. 

So, should I believe in destiny? I think yes.

From Expectation to Reality: A Rude Awakening

Good morning all! After all my hard work this school year, I've gotten accepted by all my reach schools with a ton of scholarships and absurdly high honors. See you next fall! ;)

And Happy April Fools Day to all of you too!

So after the MITES program, when it came to applying to colleges, I was the cockiest kid in school this year. Thinking my good grades were inherited, I transitioned form taking zero AP classes junior year to three senior year. Since I had just taken the courses at MITES, I was on top of the game in my math and science classes. I became very proud, and in turn, very lazy. The CE² program added to the flame. Additionally, despite turning in everything while approaching the deadline, I became a QuestBridge finalist. While I doubted that I would be matched to a college, I knew MIT would accept me early action, and if they didn't, then there was always regular decision. I knew I could pull through.

Suddenly, as early action approached, I became very nervous alongside everyone else. Would I really be accepted to a school like this? I was treated sweetly by the admissions committee by mail numerous times. After a nerve-wracking hour of waiting for decisions and refreshing, I found out I had been rejected. It was then that I went to bed in tears in the middle of the afternoon. Maybe transfer admissions or graduate school could work, I said to myself. I thought about getting into a local school just so I could transfer over and make myself look better from a simple school. Eventually, I stopped and moved on.

While I applied to many of the big-name top-tier schools, I hastily completed my main Common App application and lazily completed the supplements. In some cases, I worked on supplements depending on how close each deadline was approaching. I cringed at having to pay about $70 total for sending additional CSS profiles and SAT score reports to the schools I applied. Meanwhile, my grades dropped first semester from a lack of focus at home and wildly changing sleep habits.

After finishing applications for some safety schools of my choice, I received my first acceptance letter from BYU-Idaho exactly two weeks after applying. That next week I received my acceptance letters from BYU and Drexel. These things uplifted my mood during February. The next thing to put a grin on my face happened at my dual-credit program's Saturday Academy, when I was told I would be guaranteed an acceptance at Rowan University if I applied. I received the letter about a week ago along with a $15,000 merit scholarship from the school if I applied, not including the $10,000 state grant money on the table. The offer was very tempting.

After all the good fortune I received from these schools, I waited patiently on Ivy Day for my college decisions. After scrolling through anxiety over college decisions on my newsfeeds, the time finally arrived! After an hour of madness, I found out that I was rejected by all of my applied schools except for Columbia, where I was waitlisted. For having Columbia as my third choice this year, I thought I did pretty well. I felt pretty bad for those school friends of mine who also applied to a few Ivy League schools and did not make it at all.

Here I am about to head off on a train to another city to spend time with friends there. I am really hoping to go to Columbia from my position on the waitlist. For now, I am simply deciding between two BYU campuses, Rowan, and Drexel. Wherever I go, I want to be able to go not only for myself, but also also on behalf of my friends and family who also go through struggles sometimes worse than my own. I want to ignite inspiration in others within my community to reach beyond the stereotypes of "one of the poorest, most dangerous cities in America."

Disappointments, Expectations, and Reality.

Hello, Liliana here!

I thought that it would be appropriate for me to follow up with the promise I made in my last post. It has been more than a month, and I’m pretty much set with my college decisions. (Go to my last post so you don’t feel lost.)

Well, first things first. Sadly, I wasn’t admitted into MIT. Apparently those dreams didn't have a hidden message. Hold on to your tears tho! I’m more than satisfied with the things that I accomplished at MIT and am well aware of the high amount of applicants every year. I knew how unlikely it would be for me to get in (I remember confessing my terrible low SAT scores and lack of academics) but I don’t regret giving it a shot.

I think my topic for this post will be disappointments, expectations, and reality.  To start off, let me tell you what a difficult month this has been for me. I applied to 12 colleges/universities this year, and have only been admitted to 6. That’s half of my list (This is the part where disappointment comes).  I have been offered admission to most of my state schools and some good private schools in MA. You may want to know that Purdue University (one of the top schools for Engineering in the country) is also among the list. GO BOILER MAKERS WOHO!

Now you may think, “Wow, I’m so happy for her. Her dream of going to a good college came true.” Well, not really. But I didn't know that at the moment. You see, when I got my acceptance letter I was elated. Beyond shocked. Excited enough to start packing my bags to move to Indiana (not really lol). When I decided to come to the U.S., I had big expectations for myself. I dreamed about being successful, being able to provide for my family, and receiving the best education out there.  Purdue definitely represented all of those things and I couldn't wish for anything else.

However, not everything is as it seems. All of my plans changed when I received my financial aid package and realized that not even in a million years could I afford Purdue. (This is where reality comes to play). No matter how much I begged, how many times I called their offices, how many scholarships I applied to, I couldn't pay for my dream school. Of course, taking loans came to my mind right away. But after thinking about it non-stop, and having crazy dreams about counting money, I came up with a decision.  

Why worry so much about something so simple? Education is education, no matter where you go. It doesn't matter if you go to a community college, a state school, or an Ivy League. You will get an education! What matters is what you do with it. That’s what’s gonna define how your life is going to be.

Short story short, I denied my Purdue offer. I’m actually thinking of attending to a state school during freshman year. But my story doesn't end here, no no! This is only the beginning for me. I hope to find my true passions, draft a plan to pursue them, and then set the plan in motion. After that is done, I plan to transfer out. To where? I don’t know yet. Ask me next year and I’ll tell you.

I’m really excited for the fall. I can already see amazing things happening. Being positive always helps even in the worst situations. We don’t always get what we want, but we can keep trying until we get something similar to it. That is what I’m planning to do. I’m gonna keep trying, keep applying, keep studying, and (of course) keep being positive. Who knows, maybe I’ll end up on the top of the world one day.

It is not that cold in MA anymore. The sun is actually out even though it is 6:00pm. Summer is approaching, and with it comes the start of an amazing internship opportunity I was offered (will explain in other post). Life is great. Hope yours is as good. Keep dreaming big. Best wishes and good luck to all of you who are trying to pursue something big. (Wish me luck, too).

Shades on,

Lily-