MADE FOR YOU | SEBASTIAN SMYTHE

{Audrey} Early Admission?

Have you ever dreaded something so badly that you became sick by even thinking about it? I assume you have, because it's a pretty common feeling. In my case, it was seeing the college admission letters flood in every single day. They were huge packets enclosed in gaudy yellow envelopes, and the simple sight of them made me want to puke.

I didn't want to leave high school. No matter how much I'd exclaimed that I hated it, or that it was the worst thing to ever happen to me, I wasn't ready for it to be over.

I was only seventeen years old. That's not the age where you are choosing your career and what you want to do with the rest of your life. I had another year to decide three weeks ago, but suddenly, I was faced with one of the biggest decisions of my life. To say I was a mess was an understatement. I was unsure of the last time I'd showered and I absolutely reeked. I hadn't changed clothes in three days, and I'm sure that my dad and Carol were worried. My condition was horrendous.

Drowning in my own thoughts and coffee, I hadn't left my room in a while. My laptop glowed on my complexion, showing my sickly appearance when the Netflix show I was watching changed to a black screen. I had the remains of nacho cheese Doritos on my shirt, clinging to the dirty fabric. My hair was thrown up messily, which could best be described as a rat's nest that had a lovechild with a mullet.

When my dad yelled, "Audrey!" from downstairs, I barely moved. I simply yelled back, "Yeah?" and awaited a response. He was trying his best, but I could tell he was becoming impatient with my behavior. I hadn't gone to school in three days, and in two days, Christmas break would come. I had two more days of my senior year left before my diploma would be mailed to my address and I would be an adult. It was terrifying.

"You have more envelopes. There's one from Columbia, sweetie," Carol yelled up to me, making me shoot up from my position in bed. Columbia had been my dream since I was a kid, and hearing that they'd even had the time to send me something, even if it was a rejection letter, was incredible. I quickly slipped on my houseshoes and raced down the stairs. I grabbed the yellow envelope from Carol's hand and ripped it open without a second thought. Carol and Dad were staring at me, giving me an unspoken comfort. They had always been there for me, and I knew that they always would.

I read the letter what must have been seven million times. Each time my eyes scanned over it, it said the same thing. And I was utterly terrified as to what it meant.

'Congratulations on your early admission to Columbia University'

Sure, I was ecstatic that I had been accepted to my dream college, but what did this mean for my whole life? I would be even further away from my parents, away from the people I'd always considered family, and I couldn't possibly understand how I would do it.

And so what did I do?

"Dad... help."

-

Throughout hours of discussion with my father and Carol, I had made my decision. I was going to attend Columbia University. It had been my dream since I was a kid, and there was no way that I could pass it up. I was accepted. I would have to be a fool to disregard that.

The next morning, I woke up. I woke up on time. I woke up in time to go to school. I'm fairly certain that my dad thought he was dreaming when I walked through the door at 7:30.

I got stares when I walked through the doors of McKinley, but I couldn't have cared less. People were whispering, and I didn't care. It was the last day that I would ever step foot in this godforsaken place, and as much as I cried and threw a pity party for myself for leaving, I was happy. I had been admitted into my dream college, and I was about to attend it.