Sincerely, Your guardian Senior by Rachel

Sincerely, Your guardian Senior by Rachel - November 2014 Scholarship Essay

Dear Freshman,

You'll change. Can anyone really brace themselves for that? I want to be completely honest with you; I wasn't prepared for the change. I want to be honest with you though because in the next four years, people are going to lie to you. Girls are going to tell you that you're not cool enough, boys will tell you that you aren't pretty enough, some adults will tell you that you aren't smart enough or you can't possible be thinking you can accomplish this. And I pray that you don't, but sometimes you'll tell yourselves these things too. You'll look at the hoop on the free throw line and as you go up for a shot, you'll say, "Man you can't make that." Or maybe you'll be staring at a book thinking, "I will never read this in time." The unfortunate thing is that we live in a land of Er. A place where everybody wants to be smart-Er, fast-Er, rich-Er, pretti-Er. Everybody, you included. You won't want to hear this but I promised not to lie to you, so here goes: You can't do everything. You're thinking, "What? But somewhere in this essay you were gonna tell me I can do anything. Right?" No I wasn't, lesson #675: Freshmen should never assume anything. You don't know the system yet. Anyway, you can't do everything. That whole work-hard-and-you-can-accomplish-whatever-you-put-your-mind-to junk isn't real. Life. Has. Limitations. You. Have. Limitations. Humans have limits, kid. Here's the catch. You decide how much you'll stretch those limitations. You won't be good at everything. Nobody is. It's realizing this, and finding out what you can do well, that changes you. If you try to be good at everything, you've failed the big test: exploring your strengths and weaknesses. I'm not saying accept defeat, but accept the fact that you will fail at times and it will really suck, for lack of a better term. What you do with those failures is what matters. This is what will define who your are: your mistakes and how you learned from them. I don't mean to preach, but I've been in your position and I would have wanted the truth. For some Freshmen, high school will seem like a breeze; others may struggle. Just know this. These do not have to be the best years of your life, everything is not riding on this, and if you fall a couple times make sure you have solid friends to help dust you off. I can guarantee you'll be alright. Just believe that the lessons you learn, the hardships you face, and the knowledge you take away from your years in high school, will help change you into a better person. Don't brace yourself for the change, embrace it.

Sincerely,
Your Guardian Senior