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.

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-

Late Night Confessions

Is there a better way to spend the night than writing in the MITES 12’ blog? I think NOT! Let’s be honest though… I wouldn’t be doing this if I had school tomorrow. (Cheers to the winter break). Anyways, now that you know my reasons for joining this amazing group of bloggers, I shall start telling you my story.

Let me start by telling you a crazy dream I had four nights ago. I was suddenly at the MIT campus, surrounded by people I had never seen in my entire life. As the dream progressed, I realized that I was in one of those overnight campus visit programs. Funny thing was that I really didn’t know anyone and I kept wondering why I was even visiting the campus if I had already seen it from head to toes. Instead of going crazy asking pointless questions, I decided to follow the flow and get to know the people around me. Turned out that I became friends with a Chinese girl and some boy I can’t remember. They kept saying how MIT was their dream school and how excited they were that they got in. Instead of joining their gushiness, I only said that I didn’t know what I was doing there and that I still hadn’t been accepted to MIT. They looked at me as if I had grown another head, completely ignoring me afterwards (talk about weird people). I woke up soon after, not really remembering anything else.

I won’t deny that I put much thought into the dream. First of all, why was I even dreaming about MIT? I mean, I do have great memories about the place but, I wasn’t even considering going there for college. Yeah, I know. A MITES student who doesn’t like MIT as a potential college. What can I say? I guess I am looking for a ‘cozier’ place, not so involved with research, and little bit farther away from home. At least that is what I keep telling myself.

I guess my perspective on things changed when I had a second weird dream, the night after the first one. This dream was one of those that feel too real for you not to believe it didn’t happen. I was completely and irrevocably sure that all the things that went on in my head were true. So, as I was taking a shower, I heard my phone ringing. I went to pick it up and saw that I had an email notification from the Admission Office at MIT. “On behalf of the bla bla bla, You have been accepted …” I mean, I stopped showering right away. First thing I did was call my sister over to tell her the news (first sign that I was indeed dreaming as she lives in California). We both started crying and jumping around. Then, I got out of the shower and went screaming around my house (second sign that I was dreaming as “my house” was actually my aunt’s house in the Dominican Republic). The happiness I felt inside was something I can’t describe. I created so many plans in my head, imagining what my next four freaking years at MIT would be like. And then, sadly, I woke up panting on my bed. I took me a while to realize that I was dreaming, and that I had never been accepted to MIT.

Now, you may be asking yourselves, why is this chick talking about dreams and shit? Well, I really don’t know. I’m bored, I can’t seem to fall asleep, and I already finished reading my book for the week. But in reality, I do find these dreams kind of fascinating, hence to why I’m sharing them with you. I don’t think they came to me by accident. There has to be a deeper meaning to them, don’t you think? And as I kept asking myself those questions throughout these couple of days, I came out with a hypothesis.

How about if it isn’t the fact that MIT is not “cozy” enough what has me neglecting the idea of attending there so bad? How about if it is actually fear of being denied from such a great institution? I have felt fear many times in my life. I also know how it feels to be rejected. The feeling is not pleasant, not at all, and that’s why I try to exempt myself from those kinds of positions. However, I also know how it feels to be accepted, and let me tell you how great it feels.

After a lot of thinking, talking to myself, and remembering MITES, I realized that MIT might be in reality my dream school. I may have gotten lost between the idea of what I really want and what I think I should want, but now I’m certain that I would love to attend MIT. Obviously, that was the meaning behind those particular dreams. Why else would I be dreaming about MIT when I’m so close to learning if I got in or not? It is no secret that I’m scared, way too scared. I am definitely not the student with perfect SAT scores (far from that, actually) or an amazing record of AP classes, but that hasn’t stop me from trying. And I can’t help but to think back to MITES and remember all of the times I felt inferior and not capable enough of excelling. And here I am, several months after, feeling the same way. But I guess things do happen for a reason, and every lesson in this world is important. If I hadn’t attended MITES, I wouldn’t have known that I can achieve more of the things I can ever imagine. I wouldn’t have realized how strong I am, much less know that fear and anxiety are things that I can overcome easily.

I guess what I am trying to say here (Yes, you will finally read the real message in this long as post) is that we often lock the doors in front of us before they have even closed. We bring ourselves down by repeating how incapable we are of achieving things even before trying. It is our job to leave those antics back and step into the game, no matter how scary it can be. And if it doesn’t work out? Who cares! At least we know we tried. At least I know I tried getting into my dream school. And don’t even start thinking is because you weren’t good enough. You’re foolish if you think that way. Some things are meant to be for us, but some of them just aren’t. So, keep looking until you find that thing that captivates you and then try reaching it. Don’t ever stop dreaming big, I know I won’t.

Hopefully, you will hear of me again during April. I may say that I am an MIT alumna, but I may not. But maybe, I may say how I got into this other amazing place (and how I had crazy dreams about it, too), and it will all be alright.There’s a really weird quote I read somewhere (which i like a lot), and it goes along the lines:  “Dreams can come true, just not for dreamers.” Start acting up! Don’t wait for things to happen. And never, ever, ever, never let the fear of falling stop you from flying.

That is all for tonight. It’s almost 3:30 am and I have sleep to catch up on. Best wishes and good luck to all of you who are trying to pursue something big. (Wish me luck, too).

Much love from the girl with the cute Dominican accent.

-Lily