I’ve learned a handful of things in my 21 years \u2014 only a handful, though. I can\u2019t imagine that I\u2019ve learned all there is to know in just 21 years, but if that\u2019s the case, then why are all of our oldest family members trying to impart onto us their wisdom? I can\u2019t wait for the day that I\u2019ll get to badger some random twenty-something with my wisdom.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve learned that good things come to those who wait and that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I\u2019ve learned that two plus two equals four and that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. I\u2019ve learned that it takes all kinds of kinds, that God blessed the broken road and that she thinks my tractor is sexy.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve learned many things from many people from many places across many different mediums \u2014 even country music. And I\u2019m excited to learn more with age.
\nBut if there\u2019s one thing that I haven\u2019t learned, it\u2019s how to let myself off the hook.<\/p>\n
Last Monday, I received an email saying that, despite my best efforts and despite how \u201cvery good\u201d my submission was, a research paper I had submitted to an undergraduate research conference had not been accepted for presentation. I was disappointed, without a doubt. I had spent weeks last fall dedicated to diving into research material on the second floor of the Brackett Library and trying my hardest not to delete the plethora of tabs I had open in my browser because I could not remember how to bookmark a page. I was disappointed, but one rejection was going to have to be OK.<\/p>\n
Then on Wednesday, I received a second rejection email. I had submitted the same paper to a different research conference and was rejected yet again. It was an \u201cextremely competitive process,\u201d and I was encouraged to attend the conference regardless.<\/p>\n
In a 48-hour period, I had received two rejections on something I thought was some of my best academic work. In the middle of this rejection, I\u2019ve also been in the middle of applying to graduate school \u2014 writing, reading, re-reading and re-writing personal statements, scouring the web for what I thought would be the best program and frying my nerves because why can\u2019t each school just have the same application process because I\u2019ve entered this same information five times now?<\/p>\n
How is someone who can\u2019t even get his paper accepted to an undergraduate research conference supposed to get into graduate school?<\/p>\n
Ever since I received those emails, I\u2019ve asked myself this question time and time over \u2014 and honestly probably will continue to even after feeling like I\u2019ve come to terms with it. I know that more rejection will come. Maybe I won\u2019t get accepted into the graduate program that I want. Maybe my job options won\u2019t work out. Maybe my peers feel this way, too.<\/p>\n
For my friends and classmates in the Reynolds building and across campus,rejection is something we\u2019re going to have to come face to face with in the coming months. Jobs won\u2019t work out, internships will fall through, graduate school waitlists will become a reality and families won\u2019t be happy with post-grad decisions. Rejection will, without a doubt, become a part of everyday life in the coming months. I\u2019ve just hit the tip of the iceberg.<\/p>\n
For many in the coming months, the rejected cheer from \u201cZoey 101\u201d will become a serious reality. \u201cRejected, rejected, we just got rejected. R-E-J-E-C-T-E-D. Rejected! Yeah, we just got rejected.\u201d It\u2019ll be like we\u2019ll have our own personal cheer squad.<\/p>\n
As the rejections find their way to us via email inboxes and the receiving end of really awkward phone calls, we must remember to keep things in perspective. Someday when we\u2019re wiser, gainfully employed (maybe retired) and find ourselves worrying more about gray hair than rejection emails, a 21-year-old somewhere is going to need to hear this: \u201clet yourself off the hook.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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