<p>So, I'm finally on the other side. I now speak as one who has been accepted, and it is mindblowing.</p>
<p>This is a message that I feel is very important to those getting ready to apply as well as those who have been recently deferred/rejected.</p>
<p>I've quit. I've quit Chinese School. I've quit piano. I've quit clarinet. I've quit guitar. I've quit track. I've quit more things than I can possibly count with my fingers and toes, but I've realized that it's okay. I've quit myriad activities, and I've also started new ones.</p>
<p>However, I've also quit activities that I regret quitting.</p>
<p>When I first quit piano for cross-country, I was elated. I hated practicing, I hated competitions... I just hated piano. Sure, I had won state-level competitions, aced music theory exams, etc., but I simply did not enjoy piano. Well, two years later, I wasn't the cross-country star. I realized that I had given up something important for essentially nothing. Needless to say, I felt like a prize idiot.</p>
<p>I've failed. I've lost elections. I've come in the bottom half of cross-country races. I've gotten several rejection letters from scholarships and competitions.</p>
<p>I drool when I sleep. I don't have the answer to every question my teacher asks me in Physics. I don't get A's on every test. I'm awful with giving directions. I've been yelled at before by friends, family, and teachers. I've been in awkward turtle situations!</p>
<p>Bottom line: Don't give up. I have my faults, but so does everyone. Keep going. Don't stop. </p>
<p>No one's perfect; not even a Harvard acceptee.</p>