Disappointment

Disappointment Six and a half hours ago, this was me: Why? Because I, like  Elizabeth, am officially done with finals!!! I left campus about 2 hours ago, and am currently at Logan Airport, wishing my flight werent delayed. The airport is packed, and Ive already spotted several MIT hoodies and sweatpants. So many students are headed home :) Ive decided to use this extra bit of free time to write an entry I wanted to write/post this past Monday regarding admissions decisions. Two years ago, I wrote an entry called To the Deferred   and I want to now add to the words expressed in that entry. First: to those of you who got in congratulations, and welcome to MIT! I hope to see you on campus during CPW. To those of you who didnt get in: I have a story for you! And hopefully, itll make you feel a bit better. This past semester, I worked very, very hard not only on schoolwork, but on scholarship applications as well. There was one application in particular that I poured my heart into I wrote nine versions of that application, asked for several others opinions on my essays, and revised, revised, revised. In order to compete for scholarships, you often have to interview at your school and compete for one of your schools nominations spots. I spent a week preparing for my MIT interview, using study breaks during finals studying to drill interview questions with friends. In the end, I didnt get a nomination spot and for about ten minutes, I sort of just stared at the wall and let tears fall. Rejection hurts theres no doubt about it. But it hurts less if you take a second to think about the big picture which is where my friends came in. Here are some excerpts from my conversations with friends (copied/pasted from gchats/emails that were pretty much all taking place at the same time, lol): Me: idk im trying to be positive  and i more or less am  but a small bit of me  is very very sad right now  and im trying to make that little hamsika feel better :P Yun 12:  I bet that tiny hamsika is the one thats extremely goal-driven too  because i have a tiny-yun like that  but sometimes i need to remind her that failing just made me get up again and go and tackle the next big bad thing  and i think tiny hamsika will keep on feeling sad for a while, but eventually shell become happy and join big happy hamsika - Me: i really wanted to make everyone proud! :( Anjali 12: Winning a scholarship doesnt mean anything  its about  what you do  and why you do it.  It really is ___ Me: im losing some faith in myselff Caroline 10: really though, scholarships are awesome but theyre not the only measure  and it certainly doesnt validate or invalidate your work __ and lastly, these two Ambar 12: Do not think about this too much Ive learned to think of these application processes as a way for me to simply learn more about myself and get better at writing essays and then each one of these will never disappoint no matter how far you go. and Vidya 12: you are such a super awesome bamtastic person kiwi like forrealz (kiwi is a nickname just fyi, haha) __ The same sentiments apply to you all + admissions decisions! All of you, whether you got in or didnt get in should be proud of the fact that you applied to MIT, one of the most selective schools in the world. In filling out the application, you explored your interests, your goals, and your strengths you took time to share those characteristics with the entire admissions committee. And no matter where you end up, you will do well, as long as you put your mind to it.  ? As Anjali 12 told me, winning/not winning or getting in/not getting in doesnt change what youve accomplished so far in your life. If everything you did was done for the sole reason of getting into MIT, then youre doing it wrong do what you love, what you care about. And if you do that, I think these acceptances/rejections will hurt a little less. I bounced back within a day after I received news about the scholarship and Im happy :) I have fabulous friends, and Im proud of what Ive done so far in life. In just a few minutes, I have to board my flight but I hope this entry is helpful/comforting to you all. Best wishes and happy holidays! ~ Hamsika p.s. It might be a while before I get to blog again; Im not completely sure Ill have Internet in Indiacatch you guys in 2012 for sure!