It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Our residence halls are adorned with wrapping paper and garlands galore, and our hands are numb from making dozens of construction paper snowflakes. We take Buzzfeed quizzes and add Christmas gifts to our online shopping carts to avoid studying for exams (even though we know we’ll regret it later). We fantasize about all of the cocoa we’ll drink when we go home for break and all of the old Christmas movies that we’ll have the time to snuggle up and watch. Something about Christmas immediately reminds us of home, magic, family, and nostalgia. It always has and always will.
I’ve been particularly nostalgic recently about how all I wanted for Christmas last year was a big envelope from Notre Dame. I had stressed myself out for months (years even) on end in the hopes that Santa (aka the United States Postal Service) would be kind to me. As a result, I neglected to enjoy a lot of the Christmas traditions that I was usually so fond of. I checked the mailbox instead of decorating cookies. I stalked College Confidential instead of going caroling.
It’s good to worry about college; it signifies that you care enough for it to be worthwhile. But, there are still so many things that I wish I had known. I wish I could tell 2014 me to relax and eat a candy cane. But, alas, I can’t, so I’ve decided to do the next best thing. Collegiettes of Christmas future, take it from a Collegiette of Christmas present. You deserve to enjoy this winter vacation.
You Don’t Have to Panic
I know how bizarre it can feel during the days leading up to decision release, to know that your fate and your future are in someone else’s hands. It’s easy to become seized by fear at this fact, but this fact is actually what should help you relax! You’ve done everything you could do; you took the SAT, you perfected your personal statement, you took the SAT again, you went on the campus tour. All of the scantrons and essay boxes are behind you, and you can rest easy that, regardless of where you find yourself in a year, your future is as bright as the lights on the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.
Que Sera, Sera
Whatever will be, will be! If the admissions status that you receive back from that school you’ve been dying to get into is not favorable, it’s completely natural and completely ok to be upset. Upset would a massive understatement to describe how I felt when I got a small envelope from ND (I had been deferred). I wish I had to known the importance of keeping things in perspective. Everything happens for a reason, even if that reason is unclear at the time.
Don’t Forget to Remember Those Around You
Knowing that you’re going to college is very exciting! It’s a remarkable accomplishment, no to mention that you have a completely valid reason to start sporadically singing the fight song and wearing exclusively bookstore apparel. But it’s incredibly important to take a break from celebrating to celebrate those around you! Cherish the experiences you have left with your friends, teachers, parents, and siblings. You’ll miss the quality time a lot more than you think once you’re gone.
Merry Christmas, Class of 2020. We can’t wait to meet you!
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