Don't hold your applause until the end- clap for them!

My friends in high school getting their college decision letters made me think about what college really means. It's more than the large sack of freedom that life drops into your hands. It's more than the parties and the new laptop and the red cups and the all nighters and the road trips with your friends that you don't have to ask your parents for permission to take.

Yes, part of it is sitting on the beach with your friends wondering how Hollywood got the depiction of college so, SO right in all those coming-of-age movies. Some of it really is eating bowls of Cinnamon Toast Crunch (that you may or may not have swiped from the dining hall) at 3am. Some of it is studying so hard for a test and failing it. Some of it is not studying for a test and failing it. Some of it is secret laundry room warfare over rights to the dryer.

But truly, MOST of it, college, is about the time you spend by yourself. About the decisions you make by yourself, about yourself. Being surprised by the responsibilities you didn't think you'd have, and maybe freaking out a little or maybe tapping into the strength inside of your chest that sat quietly, patiently, untouched.

Somebody once told me, "good friends are always there, by your side." Well, where the hell would we all be if we weren't ever left on our own (even when sometimes we don't want it that way) to figure out what to do? When you have a problem that seems impossible and none of your friends are answering the phone, it seems at first like you're S.O.L. But really, you've been given the opportunity to trust yourself. You don't have anyone's hand to hold while making this decision, so you hold your own. You whisper to yourself little votes of confidence and

encouragement and get stronger as a result, regardless of whether or not the result is fantastic or catastrophic.

Here's to you, Class of 2016.

Let's raise a glass to the hard working seniors in high school who meet the standards that continue to rise to ridiculously lofty heights in the world of college applications.

Here's to those who got rejected. Here's to those who got deferred and wait listed. I'm not gonna say here's to the accepted, well, because you hear that enough. Here's to the freaking spring admits, the phenomenal students who felt like the awkward out-of-step children of the Freshmen class. Here's to the brave souls who dare to accept a challenge that has the potential to be a really crappy situation (that the letter refers to as a "special opportunity") and turning it into an axis point of growth.

College isn't all you're expecting it to be, and you haven't even gotten here yet. Life isn't what any of us are expecting it to be. Like the delicious sounding coffee drink that tastes like death in a cup or the gauchos fashion trend (circa 2006). Raise a glass to yourself, you f---ing did it. Which is always a hell of a lot better than doing nothing.

P.S.- But seriously... why did anyone ever think these were okay? >>

Much love,

ZMar

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