I have never been a big fan of awkward situations.
I don’t try to make small talk with people I don’t know, I never send food back at restaurants, and I always text people instead of calling. If there is any situation where I have the potential to feel uncomfortable, I avoid it like the plague.
Recently, I’ve discovered that college acceptances should be added to my list of subjects to avoid discussing. I know I’ve said in the past that rejection is a part of life and everybody goes through it. I personally think that getting upset over a college that you won’t even be thinking about in a few months or so is ridiculous.
But with that being said, talking about college acceptances with other people is a whole other level of uncomfortable and that’s why I think we should all keep it to ourselves until we make our decisions on May 1.
I came to this conclusion last week when a college decision came out and everyone was talking about it. I was sitting at lunch with a couple of my friends and we were talking about our acceptances to that college. While this was happening, my other friend decided to check her email to see if she got in. We were all smiling and laughing when she said, “I didn’t get in.” Silence. Complete silence. It was the most awkward two minutes of my life.
I know this sounds melodramatic and you’re probably thinking that it couldn’t have been that bad. But it was, and I didn’t know why until now. Even though it is not the end of the world if you don’t get into your dream school, the college admission process is a very personal experience for everyone who participates. We are all just doing the best we can, and hearing other people rejoice over their acceptances is terrifying when we have just gotten rejected.
So, in order to stop these incredibly uncomfortable moments, I propose a few rules for the college admission process. First, don’t open your admission decision in public. We can all immediately see whether you got in or not on your face, so let’s just open it in the privacy of our own home where we can sob or cheer freely. Second, don’t ask other people if they got in somewhere. You really don’t want to be in that situation when the person answers no, trust me. Finally, just be patient.
I personally want to know where everyone got into or didn’t get into, and I want to know where they will end up going. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to be a Nosy Nancy and ask everyone. On May 1 we will all know everything and it won’t matter who got rejected from what school two months ago. That’s why I think we should all keep calm until we have recovered from the college buzz. Nobody likes being in an awkward situation so please keep your colleges to yourself.
