Chance me . . . or advice on curing anxiety?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Emerson College
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<p>Hello everybody.</p>

<p>I'm not usually one who enjoys saying "CHANCE ME PLEASE" but I guess I now understand why people do that. Well, I'm more interested in calming my nerves than being chanced. Naturally, I'm an anxious and worrisome person and my apprehensive nature has increased tenfold with college decisions approaching. gr. So how do you stop worrying about this stuff?</p>

<p>I'm mostly worried because I only applied to four colleges and the results vary. I applied SCEA to Stanford (rejected, hehe), regular decision to San Francisco State University (accepted - doesn't everyone?), UC Berkeley (ugh . . . low chances but it's my dream school and my friend with lower stats was accepted), and Emerson (second choice).</p>

<p>So here are my stats, eh:
WGPA: 3.83
UWGPA: 3.28 (ahh, I know it's low)
AP Courses: Art History (4), Psychology (5), Eng. Language&Comp (4), U.S. History (3), Human Geography (4), Calculus AB (1), English Language&Literature (pending), Statistics (pending), Macroeconomics (pending), Civics/U.S. Government (pending) {rofl, I actually received A's in all my AP classes except Calculus . . . my GPA is low because of my Latin, math, and chemistry grades, grr}
SAT I: Math - 600; CR - 650; Writing - 670; cumulative - 1920
SAT II: Literature - 640; U.S. History - 670
Location: California
Race: Asian
ECs: The Traveling Club president and founder (12th)
*The Movie Club co-president and co-founder (12th) {volunteered at film festivals!}
*Chess Club officer (9th, 10th, 11th, 12th)
*BRIDGES officer (11th, 12th) {community service, leadership conferences, etc.}
*Journalism staff writer (11th)
*Honor Society member (11th - didn't rejoin because they're money grubbing freaks, and we sell candy more often than we actually do community service. rofl)
**Awards*: *AP Scholar with Distinction
*Maxima Cum Laude for The National Latin Exam (9th)
*Cum Laude for The National Latin Exam (10th)
*and a few school and district awards for writing and ceramic pieces</p>

<p>The first semester of senior grades should look something like UWGPA 3.6 and WGPA 4.2</p>

<p>Umm yeah, so I'm mainly lacking on my GPA and awards . . . sigh. Oh and my major will be writing for film/television. eeeeeeek!</p>

<p>Thank you for reading this.</p>

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<p>I think you have a good shot. Your stats seem to be near what they’re looking for. Good luck!</p>

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<p>@JLR123 thank you for chancing me.</p>

<p>Okay, since no one really gave me any tips on minimizing my worries, I shall include a list of my own.</p>

<p>1) Get busy doing something productive . . . or get busy worrying. So I sort of ripped that off from Shawshank Redemption (“Get busy living or get busy dying”) and replaced some words but you get the idea, I hope. Worrying is one of the least productive actions (you could probably name a few more, like procrastinating) a person can do. So do something - go volunteer, hang out with family or friends, write a blog, find a job or do your job if you have one, enter high school writing contests (because in a few more months and then you can’t anymore), research scholarships, play sports, plant a tree, etc. </p>

<p>2) All the apprehension and made-up scenarios in the world won’t change anything. You could ruminate and worry until your hair turns gray and falls out - or you could occupy yourself with "what if {I get rejected}"s all you want, but that’s not going to change the admission decisions. After you submit your application for review, it’s all up to the admissions board. It’s best to follow Advice#1 - maybe you’ll end up publishing a book or inventing a newfangled device that you could add to your resume. </p>

<p>3) “But how do I know if I’m good enough/I’m meant to do what I think I want to do?”" I’m not sure if I’m the only one, but this question runs through my mind frequently. I’m an aspiring screenwriter (and writer in general - like of novels and the like). But sometimes I wonder if my abilities are on par with my competition or if this is what I should pursue (not exactly the most sturdy career). And though self doubt may often lead you to scrap your dreams altogether, don’t (at least not until you’ve given some serious, and I mean SERIOUS, consideration). I think you’re never certain whether or not you’re good enough - but assurance comes from within, I think. It’s like that person who constantly asks others if they’re ‘fat’ - even if you say ‘no,’ they’ll continue asking others. You gain confidence from yourself. In regard to whether or not you’re meant to do something . . . I also think this is subjective. But I’ll divulge my criteria. If you keep pushing through the pain, heartache, discouragement, obstacles, difficulties, and you still feel that you want to do what you’re doing, then DO IT! Keep in mind that not everyone is going to support you and that haters are going to hate. As Randy Pausch would have said, (something like) “Brickwalls are meant to keep the other people out - the ones who don’t want something badly enough.” Fight on!</p>

<p>4) Bruce Joel Rubin: If you have a leap of faith that is underpowered where you’re questioning it as you leap, you don’t get to the other side. You can’t leap without complete and absolute willingness to die for what you want. Speaks for itself, I think.</p>

<p>5) You’re going to do amazing things - with the right mindset/perception. Remember The Matrix? The whole ‘There is no spoon’ business? In case you missed out on the movie, the dialog went like this:</p>

<p>Spoon boy: Do not try and bend the spoon. That’s impossible. Instead… only try to realize the truth.
Neo: What truth?
Spoon boy: There is no spoon.
Neo: There is no spoon?
Spoon boy: Then you’ll see, that it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself. </p>

<p>The reality is that Neo’s mind is the only thing that’s real and it’s his mind that creates the idea of a spoon, of the world he inhabits. I’m not sure what your philosophy is but I found the whole Matrix thing fascinating. The film was about freeing the mind to accomplish the incredible, the ‘impossible.’ If you limit yourself to mundane, easy-to-do tasks, then you’re incarcerating your mind and talent. Realize that you’re capable of the incredible and go out and actually do it!</p>

<p>Even if you don’t get into your dream college, don’t let that stop you from pursuing your dreams. Good luck to everyone!</p>