"I’m Ready " by Mason S

TODAY’S THE BIG DAY. It is the day I have been dreading about and waited for painstakingly for the past six weeks. It was FRIDAY. FRIDAY, December 14th, 2018. Saying the date itself gave me the chills, much like the day of bad luck, FRIDAY the 13th. Or it might as well have been February 14th (Valentine’s Day) to make my first rejection more dramatic. My heart was pounding. The results are announced 3 pm Eastern time, which is noon here. I waited for the bell to ring for fourth period, signifying lunch time. 

“What will I find in the end? Would I like the results? Was the hard work I put in enough? Will I be overjoyed, or will I be disappointed?” 

Pulling out my phone, I slowly typed in my email and password, my fingers trembling with every tap as my friends chatted out loud and betted on my fate. This is it. The moment that I, my friends, and family have been waiting for. I opened up the electronic mail, my eyes rapidly darting towards my name and the first word. I read it over and over almost a dozen times to make sure my eyes did not deceive me, knowing that everyone is watching and waiting for me to spill the beans. I can hardly believe it. “Congratulations!” The first word that met my eyes. I read a few more words. “You have been accepted into Johns Hopkins Class of 2023!” 

The next few moments were easy to remember but hard to recollect my thoughts, as all I was suddenly attacked by a torrent of cheers and shouts of congratulations that my friends screamed at me, to the astonishment and shrieks of awe my parents sputtered at the other end of the phone. I have done it-Johns Hopkins University-all those years of hard work, stress, and sleep deprivation have finally brought me the day of a bountiful harvest. One of my friends joked around that I will abandon the friend group, and I shrugged it off and laughed. Another told me that I looked to some extent dumbfounded, or maybe a little too stiff and serious. I laughed it off, saying I was just still shocked from what I just discovered and that I will feel more thrilled and beyond content during the weekend. I couldn’t have been more wrong. 

Although I received this wonderful news, I couldn’t help but feel an upsurge of other mixed feelings bouncing around in my train of thought. A new series of questions sprang up, ones that felt sharp and hard no matter which angle I asked myself. I will be facing a new, much more competitive learning environment with some of the most hard working and accomplished students from all states and other countries. Will my hard work be considered ‘enough’ there? Or a better question is, will I still excell in my major there, just as well as I am doing in high school now? Moreover, Johns Hopkins University is at Baltimore, Maryland. Will I be able to survive the very different climate of Maryland? I will be leaving California, the state that I have lived in my 17 years of existence. I will be leaving the realm that I understood too much all these years. I will be leaving my warm family and close friends. I will be leaving everything behind except memories of the laughter, fun times, and support that I had with them. Although a dream became a reality, I can’t help but notice how bittersweet this moment would become. Although I won’t

be graduating in for a couple of months, these thoughts made me fancy as if I will leave in a few weeks. 

Thinking about these questions and uncertainties has made me realize that I am going through molting. As I look back, I realize that this marks a new stage of my life, and that I will eventually overcome these challenges, just as I did before in high school. Even though the reality of leaving is bitter but temporary, the memories I keep are sweet and lasting. I’ve realized that new beginnings are not all that frightening so long as I stay positive and true towards myself. Whether I’m anxious or not, I am going to have to face my new horizon and set my goals/achievements at Johns Hopkins. I am not afraid. I will embrace this opportunity. Johns Hopkins, I am ready for you. I’ll see you this fall of 2019.