<p>It fits. OP is a good writer, makes no excuses, just went through a transition he expected to be very tough. Like good challenge prompt essays, it ends on a high note. This is entirely different than kids who send up flags about their balance or their judgment. Happy to say that.</p>
<p>Thank you again for all of the replies; it’s been wonderfully helpful. That being said, I’ve now had five people (two teachers, two CC’ers, and my college counselor) read it and recommend that I submit it. I think I’m going to go ahead and do that. I’ll update this thread a few months from now with how that went. Thank you, everyone!</p>