The Diary of Ashley Spencer: Man, I Loved College

Spring is in bloom. All the usual signs are here: flowers, idiots prematurely sporting shorts, daylight past 4:00 p.m., allergies, and, for high school seniors, college acceptance (or rejection) letters!

Seniors, you're facing a new beginning and seeing a bright light at the end of the tunnel. Hold on to this light. Soon you will be out of your parents' houses, away from all the smelly kids in your homeroom, and basking in the glory of COLLEGE. ALL LETTERS CAPITAL.

When I was a senior, my first-choice school was the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I loved the bad-ass badger mascot, the school's awesome student union, the hustle bustle of kids on the campus's huge hill, the coffee shops. I couldn’t wait to be a part of it all, especially when I saw the beautiful dudes on campus. I was pining extra hard because of my single sex school. I couldn’t wait to kiss everyone at UW. I remember thinking that if I did not get in, my life would be, like, totally wrecked! I HAD TO BE A BADGER or I would just end it! I told my parents this when I wasn’t writing angsty poetry, applying to safety schools, or practicing kissing my pillows.

My parents reassured me. "You will go to one of the other ten schools that accepted you!" my mother said. "And you'll have an amazing time!"

Because my mom didn’t go to college, I didn’t really believe what she was telling me. At that age, I thought that if you didn’t go to college, you didn’t have common sense. I now know that's not true; I went to college and I still have no common sense. I just have a degree and a little bit of knowledge about the history of mass communication and advertising. I can also kiss a lot of guys.

But I digress. Spring 2005: I had heard from other schools, gotten scholarships from other schools, and still not said yes to anything. I held out for my one true love.

One day I came home from school to find a bunch of balloons and an acceptance letter from UW, which my parents had stuck in a giant card that said CONGRATULATIONS. It was really cute. I sent in my room and board form the next day and proudly wore my Badgers sweatshirt for the entire summer, even after it started to yellow under the armpits.

While I had an amazing college experience at my top-choice school, I can honestly say now I would have had just as much fun at any of the other schools I applied to. In college, it’s not so much where you go but what you do. I’m sure if I had gone to Indiana, I would have been an editor at the school paper. If I had gone to Boston University, I would have taken creative writing and been extra critical of all the attractive people in my classes. If I had gone to the University of Florida, I still would have been a journalism major, though probably one of the few who could not tan well.

The point is, if you don’t get into your number one school, your life will not be over—you’ll still have a blast. You’ll find a pack of friends and hang out in the library until the wee hours of the morning hopped up on Red Bull. You’ll gain the freshman fifteen after eating too much late-night pizza, and then go to the gym with your roommate after swearing off cheese. You’ll take a philosophy class, hang out on the quad, maybe miss your parents, and definitely call them for money. You’ll go to coffee shops, read lots of books, attend to house parties and feel like a sweaty loser, and yes, yes of course, there will be lots of kissing. So don’t sweat the acceptance letter. What is meant to be will be, and no matter where you end up, you’re in for an amazing four to six years. Man, you’re gonna love college.

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