The gleeful ring of the bell meant there was an eat-street order begging to be approved. I turn
to my left to take it, tapping the screen of the tablet and writing down what the customer
wanted.
“Sam, foods up for ‘21”.
“Okay, I’ll be right back for it.” I shouted while I stride over to the other computer to put the
order in. Today had been the busiest day in a hot second for this restaurant. Well, I suppose it’s
more of a small-town dinner than a restaurant. But I love it here, it’s my escape from everything
else happening in my life. Being a senior in high school taking all AP classes and maintaining a
4.0 is tough enough, add in varsity soccer, my community service hours, and my job here, and
it’s basically a death sentence. My parents have always pushed me to be the best at everything.
I’m not allowed time for any distractions, I’m only allowed to work for my future education. So
much so that I don’t have any time for friends really, besides my little sister. She’s all I’ve got. I
know they push me for me, so I can do great things. So, I’ve never really put up a fight with
them about it. I know I want to be a doctor andd have a useful life. I’ve spent these last four
years in hell so I can go to my dream school-GHU. It’s the top school in the country for anyone
going into the medical field. I’m basically a top-tier student, involved in school and community,
great at academics, and a hard worker with my job on top of all that.
“Sam, c’mon grab your food!” One of the cook urges me, breaking me out of my train of
thought. I apologize, and rush through the kitchen doors, a cool breeze gushes past as I bring
my food over to it’s table. I spend a minute making sure our customers are happy, and we share
a few smiles and laughs. That was my last table for right now, so I figured it was safe to take a bit
of a break. I had a small conversation with another one of the servers there, Michelle. She’s
probably the closest thing I have to a friend outside of my family. We both want to go to GHU
and become doctors. I’m pretty sure she’s in the same boat as me, trying her best to find a
balance. I picked up my phone to show Michelle a picture of one of my pets, as it rings. My
heart drops-it's an email. It’s from GHU. I can feel my body get warm and start to sweat. e's a
pressure building in my chest as I struggle to choose whether, I want to put my phone down, or
open the email. Michelle notices the stress on my face, asking me what’s wrong.
“I got the e-mail" I said, still aimlessly staring at the blank screen. Michelle gasps.
“Oh I'm sure you got in Sam, stop wasting time and just open it!” I glance at her, with my face
twisted in a knot. My entire life has been building to this moment, this exact point in time. I’m
nervous to even think about the possibility that I might not get in. The wasted years, potential.
It makes my stomach churn in ways I didn’t know it could. I heard another beep, this time it’s
from Michelle's phone and not mine. She snags the phone eagerly from her back pocket,
studying her screen.
“What are the odds!” She shouts. She had gotten an email as well. She gives me a huge hug,
telling me that we should open the emails together. I can’t tell if her words make me feel better
or worse. I agree though, I don’t think I can continue feeling this dread. We hold our phones
together, unlock them and click on the notification. We close our eyes and count to three.
I stare down at my phone, trying to shove every single word down my throat. Silence fills the
kitchen; it fills my entire body. All I can feel and hear is my heartbeat, seeming to beat the
drums to my doom. My face gets hot, I can see Michelle perk up from the corner of my eye,
shouting with excitement. My knees felt like they were going to buckle, as tears streamed down
my cheeks. The wasted hours, days, months, all flow through my mind. My future seemed to
fade. Michelle had stopped cheering, and she gave me another hug.
“I’m so sorry.” She squeezed me tighter this time. The cooks tried to cheer me up, saying that
college is a scam anyway. I don’t need it. I appreciated their words, but it only made me more
upset. My boss came out and she and Michelle agreed that I could have the rest of the night off.
I made my way out to my car, crying more violently with each step. I could not even think of
facing my parents. I cannot even face myself.
I sat in my car, the only thought on my mind was why her? Why not me?
Summary: I’ve been seeing many people getting rejected from their dream schools recently on
my social media. I know part of it is due to the fact there are many more applicants than most
schools can take this year, but it is still so disheartening to watch people try so hard just to be
rejected. Some people I’ve seen get rejected have 4.6 gpas and exceptional credentials. Frankly,
it’s scary to see people get rejected from their dream schools even though their stats are quite
better than yours. Today I wanted to write a story about a girl who had to process the emotions
of her life not going to plan.
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
