The first submission we received rotated around college application season. College application and acceptance season is currently happening, but it’s happening alongside current school years. So not only are you trying to complete school requirements and excel enough to graduate with your goals, you are also applying to colleges that require essays, transcripts, and the like. You have to make time to go to the bank, office, and more. It’s definitely difficult to balance all this, especially because of the offices’ working hours and occurring pandemic. Some people who are applying are still minors too, meaning they can’t go out and make rounds freely. Aside from this, other applications are made online. This is the first time it’s happened for UP too. Now, UP’s system and website are full of glitches and unbearable traffic.
With that as a background, Anon expressed how they’re scared of not getting into their dream school. Exams were cancelled, meaning everything is based on your grades from multiple school years including this current year. They said: “What if my grades aren’t enough? That chance I had... Those exams were my hope. Now, everything is grade-based? It doesn’t even consider my situation throughout the past years. I swear, I’m smart, but I don’t know. What if it isn’t enough? I do better with singular exams, rather than a whole school year average.”
We understand. We are also currently submitting applications to college, and it’s stressful. Balancing is difficult, but sometimes you don’t have to balance it all at once. Give yourself breaks. I know, it may seem easier said than done, but you’re just prolonging the stress you have on your shoulders rather than giving yourself a break now and then strive for the best. Schools should be more considerate now too, but we understand if that’s not the case. You are doing your best, you survived a year of the pandemic. How you cope with yourself now is up to you, and it’s valid. Sometimes, maybe, you’d see how your grades got lower or you stay in your bed or on your phone for more hours everyday, and then you’d feel disappointed because you wasted a year. That’s how we feel as well. It’s important to note the different circumstances we have now, compared to those last years. What you are doing to cope right now is the best you can do for yourself.
Moving on, not everything goes according to plan. You may have a dream school or dream course, but those are merely dreams. What’s important is what you do with the time you are given -- the reality. Just because those are your dreams doesn’t mean other universities or courses are bad. You may even excel in others. Aside from this, don’t forget you have all the time in the world. You don’t like your course? Shift next school year! Take a gap year! There are many possibilities. Go travel. Go help your parents. Go finish other things on your bucket list. You can always go back! You have all the time in the world. For instance, you can go finish a different course and then go back to school to truly pursue what you want. It’s also hard to decide what you really want when it’s your first time. We, ourselves, are having hard times deciding what course we want even if we are already submitting our applications, since this is just the first time we are at this point.
