Control What You Can
In early October, I went on a trip to Nashville Tennessee and I absolutely fell in love with the place, culture, and of course, the colleges. Specifically, Vanderbilt University. I toured that college and instantly fell in love with the campus, vibe, and culture. Comparing it back home to community college, it blew the competition out the park. Despite the financial and productivity benefits that community college has provided me, it’s no secret that the social life here sucks. As an extroverted person, community college leaves me extremely empty at times. But this trip to Nashville sparked a fire in me to attempt a sophomore year transfer.
Prior to this trip, I didn’t think my parents would let me, but my mom also fell in love with the school, giving me the greenlight to give applying a shot. Vanderbilt is no easy school to get into but I truly felt I was right up the alley in terms of competitiveness. I have a 4.0, a list of extracurriculars, and even a transfer consulting essay coach. Combine that with the increased rates for transfers, I really felt like I had a decent shot. Unfortunately, my dreams of even attempting a transfer would end before they even started.
Despite initially getting support from my family, they pulled back after realizing the cost of attendance. Vanderbilt costs a pretty penny and not to dive into details, but my family could make it work if we wanted too, but simply chose not. I tried everything I could to keep my sophomore transfer dreams alive. Applying to scholarships, looking into ROTC, even considering enlisting part time in the army while in college. But eventually, I had to be realistic and come back down to earth. The sticker price was just too high to reasonably afford. It’s possible, but not without some risk, attending Vanderbilt would be a gamble on myself.
I spent the whole month of October hyping myself up for a sophomore transfer, not even just for Vanderbilt, but for other schools in general. USC, UNC, and UMich, were a couple dreams that died in the process. At the end of the day, I can’t be too disappointed, my parents just don’t want me to take on any debt. But selfishly, maybe stupidly, part of me wants to take a risk on myself. Part of me wants to leave my home state and experience the world. Part of me wants to take a gamble on my dreams, even if it’s not the smartest move.
Maybe that part of me will be fulfilled when I transfer out as a junior. Maybe It’s a dream I wasn’t meant to live. Either way, despite feeling like my dreams were slightly crushed, sitting and moping won’t do me any favors. Control what you can control, look forward to what’s certain, and look for the positives in any scenario.
It’s looking like I’ll most likely end up chasing for UCSD, go Tritons! But who knows what God has in store for me, maybe miraculously I’ll end up at Vanderbilt, you never know how life can turn out, go Commodores!
