If your anything like me, you already hate college,  and you have not even stepped foot on a college campus as a true college student yet. The process is uncalled for, the applications are dreadful, and the inbox of my personal e-mail is full messages from colleges that even College Board finds questionable. Along with “Research Paper Step Four” as well as plans for senior week and prom, life is just a little hectic right about now. It’s getting to the point where I can either sleep or have a social life. Sleep almost always wins.

Senioritis has not hit home yet for many seniors, especially me. It seems like any time I can get a glimpse  of social life, school proudly snatches it away and gives me a test, quiz or project in exchange. Unlike many others, I value my sleep. So anytime I get the chance, I curl up into zebra print bouncy ball and go to sleep for hours. I vitasleep review on snorebay.com for better options! Sleep is no longer an action but an obsession.  It has become a reward that is more then receiving a scholarship. My mother should be proud.

Kudos to the drinkers of Monster and Red Bull, but the energy drink thing is not exactly my cup of tea. I bet these drinks make you the life of the party…then again…I wouldn’t know because I wasn’t there. Hmmm…or maybe I was, you just didn’t see me because I was asleep on the couch. Did I mention that it gets harder to have a social life due to lack of funds? The activities we partake in during Senior year are NOT cheap. I feel like by the end of the year my total of money spent on being a senior will be more then Kim Kardashian’s wedding. Do they even give out grants for High School Seniors without social lives? I think one should be created for my honor. Either that or bring on the Red Bull.

I remember a wise person once said “Those who consider education expensive, have not yet considered the cost of ignorance.” My question is: Why even make education expensive? It is not enough that we are paying for gas to visit the college, an obnoxious application fee (What is the money going to anyway?), any optional college apparel, transcripts from our high school, transcripts AP test fees? Before we enter college we are in debt.

Once we get there we will have to pay tuition, room and board, books and fees. Then we have to make sure our living space meets all requirements of beautiful and fabulous. I can already hear my parents saying, “Money does not grow on trees!”  Well, I need to major in Botany and figure out how to create a money-based plant and distribute it to all seniors so they wont have to go bankrupt at 22.

The application then requires so-called “personal statements.” I am still trying to figure out if the college or university will accept me because I was Student Council president in 8th grade? Or do they prefer a personal narrative on how my mommy has enhanced my life. But what  I cannot wrap my mind around is why colleges require so much. Do these colleges not realize that we are in High School? We are taking 8 classes and maintaining good grades in those classes so they will think we are good enough to attend their school.

So here is a short message to college admission teams:

You must understand that we don’t have time to stalk you so we may know our applications status, harass College Board because you didn’t get our official SAT scores, or bother our lovely Guidance Secretary with problems that have occurred because you have 4000 applications to sort.  Of course, none of that will sway us from attending college or even applying to yours specifically. We need to get into your school more then anything. I just thought you should know why we get so upset when are not accepted into the college of our choice. All that work and…nothing.

Thankfully at the end of the day when we have received our many acceptance letters and our scholarship offers; every single thing we did will be worth it. It will be like winning the race of education. Graduation will be our finish line. When that day comes, it will not matter how many tears we cried, how many test grades we were not to happy about, or who even annoyed us in class, it will be about what we took from our whole high school experience. It will be a lesson learned and preparation for the next race to come: College!

A personal note to the Class of 2012:  You are smart, beautiful, talented and amazing. Any college would love to have you. So don’t sweat the small things like inconvenient teachers, petty arguments. and bad grades. Look at the even bigger picture which is: You have made it this far and “softly but strongly” you will make it even farther.