whoa.

I'm always shocked to realize how long it's been since I've updated a blog. This one is no different. Four months? Really?

In that time, I got my college decisions, decided on where to go, graduated from high school, and have been enjoying a very fruitfully carefree summer.

I applied to seven schools:

Yale - rejected.

I think this may have been the most devastating, and devastating is probably used a little dramatically. There is no doubt that I would have gone if I had been accepted, but I also acknowledge that my application did not exude the brand of a "typical Yale student," and I have no doubt that other applicants surpassed me in accomplishment and demonstrated ability. I would have loved to have been in the room when they were discussing my application, though.

Brown - rejected.

It's interesting to think how much I loved this school when I first discovered it three years ago. The growth I experienced from that time to now is evident, as I'm more comfortable enough with myself to know that Brown is not the best fit for me. Apparently the admissions officers could tell as well, haha.

Stanford - rejected.

This is the only school in which I would have studied engineering. I would have really enjoyed going here, but the suburban quality of the surroundings and the constant weather would have bored me to death. I wasn't expecting to get in, of course. Although we share the some of the same philosophies, the school was far too tech-based for me.

Washington University in STL - waitlisted.

I don't know enough about this school to rationalize how I didn't get in. That's probably why. :)

Univerisity of Illinois-Urbana - accepted.

My "worst case scenario." I don't like big schools or staying in Illinois, but I would have gotten half-tuition and probably the flexibility to triple-major. I can't tell you how much I imagined myself going here because I was so convinced I'd be rejected everywhere, hahah. It would have been a triple major in Economics, History, and Religious Studies, and I would have had enough friends on campus to get by, but not enough to see them constantly. Oh, and I've met the heads for a small proportion of the international departments, and they're all really nice people.

University of Chicago - accepted.

My first really wonderful acceptance! Ever since the first mailing from this school, I was enraptured. It was the first school I visited and the first school I felt a real connection with. One of my good friends goes here as well, and it'd be nice to see him more than twice a year. Getting accepted was probably one of the best moments of my life. The only downside? It's in Chicago, which is not bad in itself--just the five hour weekend drive my parents could make every weekend. The major would've been a double in economics and something else.

Columbia University in the City of New York - accepted/attending.

On March 31, I tried to check this first but the server was lagging so badly I moved on to Brown and Yale. After getting rejected from both, I had little hope for Columbia. When I finally did log in, I was directed straight to the letter and assumed it was a rejection or a waitlist until I read the first word. Wow. I can't describe the scream I let out, nor may I repeat the expletives I shouted while running around my house trying to find my phone to call everyone I knew on the planet. Everyone being my violin teacher, my best friends, and my family, hehehe. I think it's a funny coincidence that the video didn't load for me as it did other people. It certainly would have made my acceptance a little more expected.

The decision between Columbia and Chicago was probably the hardest part, but I miss New York and like the extra six hundred miles between me and my parents. In the end, I didn't like the overintellectualism at Chicago, which I felt was present at more normal levels at Columbia.

That, and financial aid was better with Columbia, which is always a factor.

I'm not going to lie. The last semester of high school was a complete waste of my time. Half the teachers stopped teaching because they knew no one was motivated. Senioritis hit me harder than the beats to this Matt & Kim album, which is ROCKING. I've had "Good Ol' Nightmare" for a while now, but the rest of these songs are just as good! What a surprise!

Erm, tangent. In short, I did all my final projects, graduated from high school, and have promptly began the process of forgetting all my association with the school.

I got my first job in May and have been working as a busser in a sushi restaurant. It's not bad at all, and the people there are very entertaining to be around. I'm going to be a little sad when I leave at the end of August. Awgosh. :(

I bought a guitar, but I don't have anyone to teach me and it'll be hard for me to take it to NYC since my father is coming along and he already doesn't like how I play instruments. I may have to resell it, which I really don't want to do (it's a fairly decent Fender acoustic). I wonder how you ship guitars without a hard case (I have a soft).

I had to pay for the hiking preorientation program Columbia offered. It basically Yale's FOOT. I'm not sure which one is the original, but it doesn't really matter. It's something I definitely wanted to do if I'd gotten into Yale, and finding out that Columbia had a similar program was AWESOME. However, my parents were not happy that I blew a few hundred dollars on something they observed to be unnecessary. The only explanation I can give is that I want to do this, like when I bought the guitar. I've wanted to play guitar since gawdknowswhen. I remember telling my mother that I wanted to play guitar instead of violin over a decade ago. No go. So yes, I will use my own money to do the things I've always wanted to do, even though bussing is not the most glamourous/lucrative profession.

Writing music with a guitar or piano is so different than just vocals. It's wonderful.

I've been playing a lot of tennis, and I use the term "playing" very lightly because that implies that I am anywhere near good.

Lots of friend communication and books and films and last times this summer. It's going well so far.