Blue Jay

May 1, 2016

Today is the official date to respond to colleges (for most colleges, that is). I actually committed at 10:48pm on April 29 (so my letters are technically not out of order), but I figured that today would be a good day to post to congratulate all seniors on committing. I suppose B could stand for Brown University for Isaiah too. And Boston University and all other B colleges B just because boy oh boy every college is best today.

So yes, I did commit to Johns Hopkins University for Biomedical Engineering (BME) and I am officially now a Blue Jay! It sounds so cliche and maybe I'm just a sappy romantic idealist, but I do believe that there's a perfect college for everyone, even if it takes some time for the college to grow on someone. Originally, I walked into this whole college application process clueless as to where I wanted to go and what I want to do with my life. Very little has changed because I still am very much okay with my current plans for BME to change completely if that's what ends up happening. It wasn't until a few days after receiving my Hopkins acceptance, that I reality hit me. I am unashamed to say that I burst into tears after receiving my acceptance and I had to excuse myself from Consumer Management to go call my parents and dry my face that was sticky with tears (because I was a bad student and checked my application status a minute after class had started). For days after my acceptance, I would forget that I got into Hopkins, stop what I was doing and remind myself, and then find myself smiling really widely and almost crying because of how warm and fuzzy I felt inside.

I put off committing for various reasons. It's hard to contend with how expensive Hopkins is. Hands down, it's the best place for BME. But for me, UIUC was still on the table purely because of cost. I will admit that UMich's gothic style architecture forever will aways be beautiful and that the colonial style architecture is still growing on me (Tony and I have been having some architectural talks about this still). So even though I had the most violent reaction to Hopkins, it still was not initially the place I hands-down wanted to attend.

I sent a long sappy rambling mess of an email to my AP Lit teacher Mr. Curry, who wrote one of my letters of recommendation, because I wanted him to know my relationship with Hopkins. I'll share some below, hopefully this time it will be more coherent and concise.

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I first found out about Hopkins in middle school through a google search for the best medical schools in the US. Of course these rankings should always be taken with a grain of salt, but Hopkins was listed as one of the top, if not number one at that moment, and so 7th grade Lucy told herself that she would strive for Hopkins. It also was a massive perk that the Hopkin's mascot is a bird and that 7th grade Lucy was obsessed with birds (and she still is now). 

Starting high school, I decided I didn't want to go to med school, so Hopkins faded from my mind. I visited the campus during the spring break of my junior year and did not like the campus at all, partially because it was a cloudy and rainy day (and what campus actually looks pretty when everything is grey grey grey?) and also because it was the last college visit after a whole slew of Ivies. Again, I was and still am partial to gothic over colonial, and so the Hopkin's campus was very

unimpressive. I was almost not going to apply, but I figured, what the hell, it's ranked #1 for BME and I doubt I can get in, but there's no harm in trying.

Even after receiving my acceptance letter from Hopkins, I still didn’t feel solidly that I wanted to go there for sure. But the more I thought about it, about its proximity to NIH and DC, about the incredible BME program and the amazing resources it offers, Hopkins slowly grew on me. Attending SOHOP from April 6-7 sealed the deal. The campus of Hopkins is small, sure, but I actually liked that it was so easily walkable (because I am a habitually late person and therefore can run to class and still be on time) and that in 1.5 days spent on campus during SOHOP, I could find my way around decently without burying my head in a map. April 6 was a gorgeous day, the sun was shining and the buds were beginning to blossom on the trees and the Hopkins campus took my breath away at how gorgeous it was. It was this quaint beauty, not like the powerful, intricate gothic beauty, but it was certainly a campus that I could live on and be happy on. The people I met at SOHOP, all these admitted students and current students, were all so talented and accomplished, but also humble and kind at the same time. I didn’t get to visit Baltimore during SOHOP and so what I know of it is limited to pictures and videos, as well as my brief visit to Inner Harbor during my first visit to Hopkins. Baltimore is still growing on me slowly. Of course I’ll be swamped in work because BME is an intensive major, but I’m excited to explore Baltimore. It does feel like a collegetown after living so close to Chicago for all of my life and after living in DC this past summer, but that makes me feel better about it because I like that it’s smaller. I love that there are these neighborhoods with distinct personalities and I love the artsy, indie vibe that Baltimore has. Of course, Inner Harbor will never hold a candle to Navy Pier, and I will miss Lake Michigan dearly, along with other things, but then again, I still haven’t given Baltimore a fair chance to shine, and I will definitely explore and embrace this city in the fall.

I guess my decision on Hopkins is less that I felt that Hopkins is right for me, and more that no other school felt right for me, even the ones I didn’t apply to or the ones I didn’t get into, and that for me to think about going to any other school but Hopkins just didn’t feel right. Seri mentioned a sound piece of advice, where she told me “flip a coin, heads for Hopkins, tails for UIUC. If it lands tails, then you’re going to UIUC. But if you have even the slightest weird feeling about it, then you’re going to Hopkins.” I didn’t have a coin with me at that moment, but I told myself, “Okay, you’re going to UIUC.” And my heart just sank. Something didn’t feel right and so I decided then that I was going to Hopkins.

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Wow that was a lot and it was still rambly. I wish I could give concrete pieces of advice to current juniors and anyone else who will eventually go through the college application process, but I am not like Emerson and cannot create powerful, motivational, standalone sentences.

In total, I applied to 16 schools. I know, it’s a lot. Thankfully I could reuse essays for some of them and a few didn’t require an essay and/or were free applications. Sure, I did many apps last minute too which is not ideal either. But in the end, you’re going to get into a college, and over time, whether it takes you a second or the full 4 years you spend there, you’re going to end up coming to terms with it and it’s going to grow on you. Love at first sight doesn’t exist, or if it does, it’s very rare. But humans are adaptable and humans are eager to love and accept the circumstances and make the best out of it. We’re all innate optimists and and because of that, I can say with confidence that wherever you end up going, everything is going to be alright.

Congratulations Class of 2016 for deciding on where you’ll be heading for the next chapter of your lives. As I mentioned on my facebook post, please keep in touch with me, let me know how you are doing, how you are feeling. Send me pictures of your campus, of your dorm, of the view outside your window, of the city or forest you are surrounded by. All I ask is that you don’t forget me, okay? I will remember you, and I hope you will remember me too.