Student Blog: College Life and the Perks of Rejection

College. It's something I've dreamed of since middle school. I kept a notebook in my desk in sixth grade that planned out my entire future- I'd get accepted to a musical theatre BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) program from a prestigious school in New York, graduate with honors, and start my career with wild success. I guess I never let go of that dream as I grew up. As middle school ended and high school began, I still knew exactly what I wanted in life. I worked hard, moved up a year, and started immediately on my BFA applications with high hopes. I was accepted to schools and alternate programs, waitlisted for BFAs, and felt good about the work I was putting in- But something just felt wrong. During in-person college auditions, I felt out of place. Different. I would talk to these girls who were so stereotypically beautiful, talented, and perfectly trained, and it made me lose hope for my own future that I had planned so well.

In the end, I wasn't accepted to a single program.

The loss I felt in that moment was unimaginable. Every dream I'd carefully drawn out was absolutely crushed, and I was forced to look at the few options I had left. I never imagined myself in a BA (Bachelor of Arts) program because it felt like "lower status" compared to the prestigious title of the BFA, and I was determined to be the best of the best. However, at this moment, I discovered that a BA might be my path after all. I started looking into the BA programs I had been invited to and had initially ignored, and that's when I discovered Columbia College Chicago.

Columbia College Chicago's program lit a spark in me that I hadn't felt in the entire rest of the process. Not only could I study musical theatre like I always wanted, but I could also double major in comedy writing- an area of study that held a special place in my heart, and that I never knew I could actually declare as a major. For the first time since my initial applications, I felt like I found the one place that was right for me. Everything about it was perfect, even though it was never what I saw myself doing within college. I was finally excited about where my life was headed and was once again ready for my future to begin.

Soon enough, the beginning of September arrived and my freshman year took off in a heartbeat. I was dancing, singing, laughing, and enjoying every single day. I was placed in focused classes that honed my artistic skills and was producing work that I felt proud of again after all the rejections and anxiety I had felt before. I was surrounded by peers who focused on passion rather than perfection, which was something I have always needed as a person. Telling the world that I was in a BA program no longer felt terrifying and embarrassing, but it brought me a new kind of joy that I never could have imagined. The happiness I felt never faded.

The moral of this story is that a rejection, or a lot of rejections in my case, are not the end of the world. In fact, sometimes they can bring us to new paths that weren't even on the table before. I would have never imagined myself in the place I am now, but I honestly couldn't be happier with it. Having a BA versus a BFA does not mean you are "less" or "more" as a person or performer, and that's exactly why I threw away that notebook from sixth grade. It took me a long time to learn, but it's not worth doing what's expected of me if I don't feel good about it. Life doesn't need to have a plan- just take a deep breath, trust your gut, and it will all be okay.