by Robel Wondimu ’13

For most, the college admissions process has left as quickly as it came. Some seniors are thrilled with where they were accepted, others may only be content, and even more may be devastated. In these testing times, at the expense of sounding cliché and trite, I want to remind everyone to hold steadfast to their dreams, believe in yourselves and never give up.

Dalia Lama XIV once said, “People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’ve gotten lost.” It is important to remember that it is not the means to an end that matter, but the end result.

There are a handful of students who got accepted into an Ivy League, or similar exclusive universities, and good for them, but then there are the majority of students who are going to attend a state university or even a community college. What’s important to remember is to maximize your opportunities and apply yourself where you are.

Barack Obama wasn’t a perfect student in high school, in fact he admits he wasn’t focused on his studies and went through a phase of teenage rebellion. After high school he attended Occidental College, became an accomplished student there and transferred to Columbia University, eventually making his way to Harvard Law School. Through his hard work he was able to put a no-name college on the map by becoming the President.

I don’t want to make it seem like college is the only path in life to success, because it isn’t. Seniors who won’t be going to college also need to have a goal in mind of what they want to do with their lives so that they can invest their time and labor into building a prosperous future. What will matter in the future isn’t whether or not you got accepted to an elite university, but that you have a goal that you actively pursue. Now should be the time to lay the stepping stones on the path to that goal, because it’s never too early to start thinking about the future. If you don’t worry about your own future, nobody else will either.