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Wednesday, March 26, 2014

“Patience my child is a virt--“ -“STOP” by Mathew T


According to the old saying "patience is a virtue", patience is something that people should strive for. But why would anyone say that? I just don’t understand. Apparently we should wait, sit tight and allow things to come to us instead of going out of our way to go get what we want. That's what I would do; I’d be out there trying to do something. I'm not impatient, I just don't see the point in waiting for something to come to me when I have the opportunity to go and get it done myself in an efficient and convenient manner.
One of the worst feelings in the world, is waiting for news, any kind of update be it good or bad. Waiting stresses me out. It makes me cringe. I become anxious and irritable. I don’t think that I’m incredibly impatient, or at least I hope. It’s just that the waiting game prolongs whatever is coming, and that’s never a good thing. I want things done promptly.  I’d rather hear back immediately, deal with the decision, and move on to the next step. I’m not so much in a hurry, but I’d like things to flow smoothly. Being held up by a simple decision impedes this and just causes problems for me
Currently, I am waiting to hear back from UCI; University of California Irvine. I applied in November to the nursing program and I haven’t heard one thing back from the school. I’ve sent in all of my papers, the various files and scores as requested, but I have yet to get the one thing I truly desire: A decision on my admission, a response, a simple response. According to some of my friends, the super smart geniuses that have so graciously graced me with their input, and according to my Mom, Dad, Tías, Tíos (Aunts and Uncles) and grandparents, I have a pretty good chance. My scores were in the median and my GPA matched up with the median for the school. I’m right in the middle. So in theory and just in theory since nothing has happened yet, I should get in. However knowing my luck, and knowing my ever burning hate for anticipating news, I’m telling myself I won’t get in. Shutting myself down like that could probably be classified as a coping mechanism for stress. I mean if I prepare for the worse that can happen, the overwhelming feeling of shame that comes with a college rejection letter, the laughs, the harsh disappointed glances, and the knowledge that I just wasn’t good enough or that I should have prepared more, how much can it bother me? Either way I’m preparing for a rejection letter because I’d rather have a backup plan. Doing something feels way better than waiting around for nothing to happen.
Waiting for news like I've said before just isn't worth it to me; my time could be better spent doing something else. It causes anxiety for me, if UCI would just hurry up and email me an admission's response I would know or have a better idea of where I am going to college. And that knowledge would set any high-schoolers mind to ease. But I suppose, there is a tiny up side to having to wait so long, and to continue to have to wait so long for a simple reply. All of this waiting has allowed me to make a more informed decision on what school I decide to attend. All of this extra time has allowed me to double check the nursing programs at the Cal states I applied to and it has also allowed me to check out the housing situations and the different minors and clubs they have on each campus. 
However there is a downside to this upside, after all what goes up , must come down. Because of all this extra time spent looking at the fine details of each school, I've come to the conclusion that UCI has everything that I want in a school; it has my major (which I probably won’t be admitted to) it has the minor I want, it has the clubs that I’m interested in joining like a TENNIS CLUB, A TENNIS CLUB THAT IS ACTIVE, which if you couldn't tell by the caps lock makes me very happy. There are just so many benefits for me. Basically the admission decision, when I get it, will kill me either in a good way or in the complete opposite.
Despite my utter loathing for waiting for anything that should be expedited A.S.A.P. (my admission decision), I think I finally understand why people say patience is a virtue. It's because you have to wait either way you look at it. It is completely unavoidable and there is no use getting all worked up over something you have no control over. If only this epiphany had come four months ago.
 I only have to continue waiting until the 31st of this month, since that's their deadline. They'd better abide by it or they'll be bombarded by complaints and phone calls and the occasional death threat (not that ALL three will be coming from me, I might just skip the phone calls and the complaints). Despite the epiphany that so conveniently came near the end of this personal reflection, until the 31st I will continue to furiously refresh my email until I get a notification from UCI.
            P.S. on 3/14 @5:00pm Mathew Ryan Trevino received admission to UCI’s Nursing Major, No death threats were sent and he only refreshed his email once. Maybe Patience is a virtue!
**death threats were used for comedic effect.

48 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed reading this article! I can totally relate to this! I understand how it is really irritating and painful to wait for something. It makes you feel excited but also stressed since you do not know what the outcome will be. Just like you, I had to wait for my college decisions and I was so scared at what their decision would be. At times, I thought they forgot about me since I did not get an email from the college in such a long time! It is a painful process to wait but I totally agree with the quote that "patience is a virtue". Also, I am really glad to hear that you go accepted into UCI! Congratulations!! Overall, this was a wonderful article to read and I was especially hooked when I read the title! Good job!

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  2. Loved this piece of writing! I can relate to this so much !Oh and congrats on getting into UCI!Wow what an amazing accomplishment.-Alexis Chiong period6

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  3. Matthew, I thoroughly enjoyed your post. I have always struggled with patience and these last few months have been especially trying with college admittances and scholarship applications. I like how you built the whole piece up around your UCI admittance, only to divulge in the final line that you had gained admittance a few weeks ago. First off, congratulations on the acceptance!! Secondly, well done on your blog submission; it was comedic and original.
    -Christina Tapia

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  4. CONGRATS MATHEW! Your article was enjoyable to read now that the wait is over for most people. I like how you made it long to see who is patient enough to read it. This was a very relatable article to every senior which I guess is what made it interesting. I also likes how you separated each paragraph into how you were feeling, either for patience or against it. Very well written and again, congrats!

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  5. I too, had the same thought you had about these college replies--they take longer than they seem to need and builds up the pressure for many students! However, the calm side of me believes that I should just let things go and see what happens. If a certain event happens, it is meant to happen and would happen sooner and later, and there is nothing one can do to change its outcome. Good job on this piece, and congratulations on your admission to UCI!

    -Hsing Chang

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  6. Mathew, this was an amazing piece. By the way, Congratulations on getting in! I am very happy for you! I can very much relate in waiting, especially for college acceptances. It makes me want to pull my hair out. What drives me even more crazy is if you get a rejection after all that waiting. Even though waiting can make us go insane, patience definitely is a virtue. Patience is what makes everything worth it.

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  8. I think I ruined the ending for myself because once I started getting into it, I'd realized what you were talking about. However, I kept reading because I was intrigued by what you had to say and how you said it.

    Your personality showed off so strongly in this post. I told Kayla this in her post a few months back, but like I old her, I was able to hear your tone and voice too. Maybe I've hung out with you too much lol.

    I loved the comedic effect to this post--I literally LOL'ed. Also, I think it's pretty clever that you wrote this post knowing how the ending would come out. And like I said, I ruined the impact for myself because I already knew you were accepted. :p

    Great job Trevino! (:

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  9. Congratulations! This piece of writing speaks to a lot of readers: many of us find patience to be a difficult virtue to uphold. I felt this way waiting for my college decisions as well, sometimes the suspense really is just too much! I was very interested throughout the entire read, it is very well written! I immediately was intrigued by the title and my attention was held all the way through. It was easy to feel the frustration and understand the discontent associated with the waiting game. Good job, both on the piece and your acceptance!

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  10. Nice work. It was nice how you added personality to your writing style. And you had a good topic. I'm sure a lot of people relate to this topic. I like how you wrapped it up in the end knowing the answer to your question.

    -Marchi Boggio

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  11. Wow Matthew. Just reading your piece reminded me of all the anxiety I felt when waiting for a notification from the colleges I applied to. I was actually feeling anxious while reading it haha. you did a great job in expressing yourself and thank you for sharing your experience with the college process. I feel like the doubt and self-criticism is very common during this process and I was able to relate to you with that. Congratulations on being admitted to UCI!

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  12. Great Job Mathew you sound just like me. It felt like waiting forever and I thought that I was not going to get in but then I was filled with joy when I found out I got in. But yeah great job fellow anteater.

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  13. Congrats! I heard that getting into the Nursing major was difficult. I feel like most people could relate to the impatient wait of receiving their admission status. I hope nursing is something you really have a passion for. Like the old saying goes, once you find a job you love, you never end up working a single day of your life. I hope the future treats you well and you very much deserve your admission. Good luck in life and good job!

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  14. Man I feel the same way! You pay all this money and they make you wait almost half of a year just to see them say yes or no. But at the same time everything happens for a reason right? You did a good job picking a topic that everyone can relate to and you did a god job using things like "death threats" for comedic effect hahaha. Good job and congrats on getting in!

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  15. I thought that this was a really great piece and relating the virtue of patience to your own current situation was awesome! (By the way I hope you get accepted!) I really enjoyed the humor you used in your piece and that you got your point across keep up the good work!
    Rachael Rubalcava

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  16. Congrats Mathew! Your style of writing is very easy to follow and it's fun to know what goes on in your head ^-^ With such good writing skills, I'm pretty sure you were a shoo-in for UCI! I'm glad that you got accepted to your perfect school; you'll do amazing!

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  17. First of all, congratulations ob your admissions to the UCI nursing program. I do believe they only offer a very few amount of spaces for students. The stress of waiting for these decisions is dreadfully unbearable. You have conveyed the emotion perfectly in this piece. Most of your audience can completely relate to it. Kudos to you on picking this topic to write about.

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  18. First off, Congratulations on getting into UCI! I'm very happy for you. On other notes, this was an exceptional piece. You chose a topic that was entirely relatable to basically every high school senior right now. Literally, these few months, waiting for anything from colleges has been a stressful roller coaster ride. Thanks for sharing your experience with all of this. Great job. :)

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  19. I really like this piece. I totally agree with you. I really don't like waiting. Congrats on going to UCI

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  20. I think we can all relate to how you felt. The anticipation and stress of waiting to get accepted or rejected from the college of your dreams is horrible, but once you get the letter, you have a great sense of relief and joy if you get accepted like you did ( congradulations by the way :) ) or are left in a state of devistation. I think your piece depicts very well how we all feel and I commend you for that. It was a great article.

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  21. First of all, Congratulations on getting into UCI, Mathew! I totally get your frustration and anxiety about this whole college admissions situation. I know it is hard to find the college of your dreams and wait to find out if you made it in, and I'm sure that is something that all of us are going through right now. Have confidence in yourself, and know that being cautious is okay, but don't let yourself be overwhelmed by that doubt and fear. You're doing great so far!

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  22. I think every senior who has applied to nay college understood what you going through.. lol I know I did but i'm happy you got into UCI a great school and i like how you added dramatic effects because it kept me reading the whole thing!

    -Erin Napoleon

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  23. Mathew! I just love this blog submission! It's perfect! I could totally relate to just everything you wrote. I personally refreshed my email every single flippin' day, until I got my acceptance. :D I may have sent a few death threats to the school. haha. I truly love how you incorporated your personality into this post. It's like I could hear your voice reading it to me..so strange! Oh, and the tennis part! It was a good touch. I am happy that you got accepted into your school of choice, especially since I heard that getting into the nursing program was hard! Great job, Mathew and Congratulations!
    - Tia Basa

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  24. Waiting for colleges to contact us is something every single one of us can relate too, the apprehension, the days ticking by... all of them adding themselves into swirling doubt inside us. But like you say sometimes we just have to wait. Good job.
    - Arturo Ayala

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  25. Congrats on getting in! Imagining you in nurse scrubs amuses me to no end, but I'm sure you'll be a wonderful nurse. I liked the part about sending death threats to the school. Trust me, we've all been there! Good luck in college! -Emily Wilt

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  26. This was a thoughtful, well-written response that provided great insight regarding the idea of patience and also what needs to be done to achieve what is most desired. Your personal reflection was great. Good job.

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  27. I liked how you showed your personality through your writing. The humor you added into it made this easy to relate to piece even better. Good job and congratulations on your acceptance into UCI.
    - Oscar Salazar

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  28. Death threats were only used for comedic effect...Hahaha you crack me up Trevino! I liked the upbeat and entertaining vibe you had going on, I could totally read everything in your sassy voice. Congratulations on getting into you dream school, looks like a happy ending after all!:)

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  29. Death threats were only used for comedic effect...Hahaha you crack me up Trevino! I liked the upbeat and entertaining vibe you had going on, I could totally read everything in your sassy voice. Congratulations on getting into you dream school, looks like a happy ending after all!:)

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  30. Matthew this piece was hilarious. Congratulations on getting accepted into UCI. I enjoyed this blog because you brought so much life into the story as well as made a valuable connection with the audience. Every senior high school student who has applied to college knows exactly what you went through.

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  31. Buahaha, this was just so great. An amusing story from an amusing being. Wow, I might be judged… but I’m just going to say it. This pretty much just shows the amount of stress school causes generally, minus the academic work.. And yet.. no school have decided to change their system. Welp! At least we’re almost done, at least the ones who aren’t doing pre-med and/or getting their masters. I liked how throughout the whole piece, you talked so eloquently and sophisticated; it helped in what seemed to be a “theme” revolved around school. I think the greatest thing about the whole piece was your witty and comedic talk. You have a knack for that thing you know. I’m not saying that because I hate it though, I like it. It’s great. It’s humorous. This was great, like frosted flakes!
    P.S We make a great team. ;)

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  32. Mathew you just made this completely ralateable to everyone. We all know the pain you went through especially me since I'm still waiting. The pain. I like how you used death threats to add a comedic affect.

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  33. Just by the title I was immediately intrigued to your story! It was so relatable and I bet we were all feeling the same stress! Overall you had an amazing story. The added humor was a nice touch. Last but not least, congratulations on your acceptance!!!

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  34. Congratulations on your acceptance! It seems like UCI will be a great fit for you. Your story was really able to relate to most of us, as seniors who waited or are waiting to hear back from their desired schools. The death threat part was a nice comedic relief, especially when you included the explanation of it being used for a comedic effect. Good job and congrats!

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  35. Wow, I really enjoyed reading this piece and I thought that your take on the phrase "patience is a virtue" , and how you explained it, was very interesting. The addition of your humor really gave this a unique flare and made the article so much more fun to read.
    P.S. congratulations on your college acceptance!!!
    - Percy Starks

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  36. Congratulations on the admission to UCI! I like the impatience shown in this personal reflection. It develops a sense of humor that is really entertaining to read. It is also very relatable because we all have a sense of urgency and were very impatient as we waited to hear back from the colleges we applied to. Good read!

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  37. Matthew, Matthew Matthew! This blog entry is a true testament to who you are, its kinda funny! Haha! Seriously though, great job! The way you made it seem like your train of thought, not to mention giving that long-lasting effect somehow on the read that made us, or I guess, Me, impatient was very effective! Congratulations! Not to mention, CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ACCEPTANCE! You ANTEATER!

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  38. Hahaha! This was such a funny piece to read, and I think it had an even greater of an impact because of how relatable it is! Congratulations on your acceptance! Your personality just came out all in words, and had me laughing out loud in front of my computer!!!

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  39. I liked this. It made me giggle and it touxhed upon a subject that resonates with me deeply. I really hate waiting and that was my reaction to waiting for my admissions letter/email, especially when my friend recieved hers months before I recieved mine. I liked your use of comedic effect and congrats on your acceptance!

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  40. I loved this! it reminds me of me waiting for something I bought online. I don't like that feeling of waiting and it seems to never arrive but you know what patience is a virtue.

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  41. Death threats were used for comedic effect. Ha! Hilarious, Mathew.
    Ah, CONGRATULATIONS ON THE ADMISSION TO UCI! So proud of you!
    Although this piece consisted of a lot of humor, it also had a ton of serious points that everyone can relate to.
    Especially, "I mean if I prepare for the worse that can happen, the overwhelming feeling of shame that comes with a college rejection letter, the laughs, the harsh disappointed glances, and the knowledge that I just wasn’t good enough or that I should have prepared more, how much can it bother me?"
    Once I read that, I felt so many feels. Like, so many things are laughed off and harsh disappointed glances are given off by so many people, and it can't help but to hurt a little on the inside. Well, for me at least.

    Such a greatly written submission, Mathew. Great job! Loved it.
    Once again, congrats! Definitely added a positive light to the piece.

    Seohyun "Joy" Jeon
    Period 4

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  42. Let me start off by saying, Congratulations Mathew on your acceptance to UCI! You definitely deserve it after your persistent hard work! I loved how you chose to share something with everyone that is personal and means so much to you. Your descriptive details of each moment you spent waiting is something I know almost everyone can relate to. I’m glad that stress is over for you though and I wish you the best of luck in college!

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  43. Hey Mathew that is so awesome about your admission! Congratulations! Based on your writing style I see here, there is no doubt in my mind you will do amazing work there!
    Jack McDonald
    Per. 4

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  44. I like how you used your personal experience to get your message across and to give the reader a more personal connection.
    -Noah Valdez

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  45. well i want to start off with your acceptance to UCI! its a great school and i hope you do well there. other than that ihtought this was good and well written.it cought my eye and i enjoyed reading it. keep up the good work.

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  46. I feel you 100% on this piece, college admissions is probably the most infuriating thing in existence, due to the huge amount of WAITING. Waiting not days, not weeks, but months, and for a very real chance of rejection? It sucks, plain and simple. The waiting thing speaks to all students, because I hate waiting, but it is indeed a very necessary part of life. Great piece.

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  47. Patience really is a virtue, yet I seem to forget that all the time. I try to force things to happen and usually it needs up really bad! Anyways, you were quite funny and used Mrs. Cogswell's notes quite well! Good job! and Congratulations on getting into UCI!

    - Taylor Robles

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