LIFE AFTER HIGH SCHOOL

“I WANT MUFFINS!” Kelsey texted to a group message with her three best friends. It was the first day of senior year; the girls had a tradition of baking together since they were freshmen. That year, they made chocolate chip cookies at Madeline’s, and sophomore year was apple pie at her house and last year was German Chocolate Cake at Marianne’s. Kelsey continually fidgeted with her phone while droning out her literature teacher’s boring “first day of class” lecture, eagerly waiting for this year’s plans.

“Come over after school!” Sarah replied moments later. And a subsequent buzzes confirmed the girls plans for their night.

Kelsey, Marianne and Madeline drove up to Sarah’s driveway. They didn’t even bother knocking on the door, and walked inside her home.

“Hello seniors! How was the first day?” Sarah’s mother greeted them with a friendly smile. The girls all hugged Mrs. Moore, who had been like a second mother to them since they became friends. It wouldn’t be long until the longs days spent at the Moore home would end.

“Chocolate chip or blueberry?” Sarah asked as her friends entered the kitchen.

“Is that even a question?” Marianne replied, grabbing the bag of chocolate chips and sliding them across the counter. Sarah began rummaging through the cupboard searching for the rest of the ingredients. Locating the flour, she tossed the package over her shoulder.

“I can’t believe school is happening...again,” Madeline groaned, stirring the batter.

“I can’t believe this is our last year,” Kelsey said.

“You guys, we are seniors. This is it. After this, we’re gonna be in college,” Marianne replied with a handful of chocolate chips in her hand.

“Don’t even say that! I don’t want to think about it,” Sarah said.

The girls went silent, pondering the thought of going to college, living without their family and living without each other. During autumn of freshmen year, Sarah, Marianne, Madeline and Kelsey became friends. For four years, they attended Friday night football games, ate dinner at Carsonie’s and had sleepovers together. They couldn’t believe that their years together were coming to end.

 

 

Marianne

 

“Ring, ring, ring!” the telephone shook the table.

“Marianne, are you gonna answer that?” my co-worker snapped.

“Hello, this is DiBela’s Salon. This is Marianne, how may I help you?” I said into the telephone. Grabbing a pen, I sketched in a customer’s appointment to get highlights on the calendar.

The conversation ended and I realized this wasn’t the first time I had tuned out reality, focusing on the only thing I had in mind: college. I stared out at the cars zooming down Lane Avenue. I watched college students from the nearby Ohio State campus walk into the restaurants across the street. They were independent, free and educated. Soon that would be me. Only a few months, four quarters, two semesters. I would just have to make to the graduation ceremony, then summer will come and then, finally, I could leave. Unfortunately, it was only the first day of school. I wish I could fast forward to May, the month when all the fun would happen. Prom, senior breakfasts, graduation parties.

 

 

 

I drove home in a daze, so engulfed with thoughts about college and senior year, I almost hit my mom’s car pulling into my driveway. Throwing my keys on the table, I saw my mom sitting at the table flipping through my old baby book.

“Mom, are you serious right now? You do this every year,” I laughed.

“I just can’t believe you’re a senior! I can’t believe you’ll be eighteen this year! You’re all grown up!” my mom said pointing to a picture of six-month-old me. I would miss my family at college but the idea of being independent was new and exciting. I couldn’t share the same feelings my mother had.

I flipped through the mail on the counter, piles of bank notifications, magazines, and some brochures for colleges. Glancing at the brochures, my eyebrows wrinkled; I had never even heard of most of these colleges, and I had no interest in them anyways. My heart was set on Elon University. I plopped on the couch, imagining my life there. I would walk down the tree-lined streets to class every day, enjoying the light North Carolina breeze, soaking in the ever present warm sunshine. I would walk up the stone steps to the buildings, admire the architecture, dating back to Elon’s founding in 1889, and step into the regal brick buildings ("About Elon University”). Walking through the hallways, I could wave at my new friends, converse with my knowledgeable professors and relish in my newfound independence. I could even join a sorority, get a “big sister” who I would get matching shirts with and–

“Get ready for dinner!” my mom’s voice pierced through my daydream. Snapping back into reality, I walked to the kitchen to grab the silverware. Setting the table, I began thinking about the oncoming year. The piles of papers to fill out for college applications, the essays to write, the schoolwork that I actually still had to do, even though senioritis was already setting in, and of course, work. It was all overwhelming, my to-do list seemed endless, this year seemed like it would be the longest one yet.

After eating dinner, I would go to school the next morning, then check in at work, race home to finish my homework, and finally, fall asleep, dreaming about Elon. Day after day, I went through the same routine, all the while thinking about my applications I would have to fill out soon.

 

 

 

Come October, I was completely absorbed in college applications. Every night, I opened my backpack and took out Hamlet, but as soon as I saw the stack of college applications, homework was out of the question. I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time for my dream school; I planned to carefully fill out the application, check it over at least twenty times, and then a couple more times after that. As I sat at the computer one night, I scrolled through Elon’s website. Clicking on the link, titled “Apply Now - Early Application”, I sighed. This had to be perfect. I needed to go to this school. For the rest of the night, I planned out my essay and wrote out my answers for the online application.

Three weeks after submitting my application and I was still constantly stressed. Every morning, I rolled over in bed and grabbed my phone to check my email. I clicked the refresh button at least twice before even sitting upright in my bed. During class, I could barely focus, partially due to the apathy felt by all seniors at that point in the year, but mostly because the only thing on my mind was college. A chance to start anew, make new friends, have a new home, and actually enjoy the content I would learn in my classes, and all that was dependent on this email; this email that just would not come. They say a watched pot doesn’t boil, but “they” don’t understand college acceptance emails; a frequently checked email account better receive my acceptance letter, and it better receive it soon.

My phone buzzed just as I clicked the email app and my adrenaline levels shot up instantly. But then the notification popped up, it was just a text from Sarah.

“Dinner tonight? Carsonie’s?”

“Sure! Can I sleep at your house after? Parents are more psycho than me about college, too stressful,” I texted back.

“Yep, pick you up at seven,” she replied.

 

 

 

After dinner, Sarah and I drove back to her house where we started watching “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” in her basement. I had a hard time focusing on the dramatic reality show, all I could think about was Elon and whether or not I was accepted. I was checking my phone every five minutes. Sarah looked over at me. She saw my face illuminated from the glow of my phone.

“Oh my god, if you check your phone one more time… Please just chill out!” Sarah commanded.

“You don’t understand. I have to get in,” I replied staring at my mail inbox. But Sarah was right. I really did need to calm down. I forced myself to turn my phone on silent and vowed that I wouldn’t check it until next morning. I tried to refocus on watching the show and blocking out all of the racing thoughts.

“I’m going to bed,” Sarah said as she pressed the off button on the remote control. We had watched two hours of reality TV, during all of which I had not even looked my phone once. I was exhausted but I couldn’t help myself from checking my phone one last time…

“MARIANNE! Just go to bed,” Sarah shouted. My phone seemed to light up the pitch-black basement.

“I got in!” I screamed.

“What?! No way!” Sarah replied.

There on my phone, was the acceptance email from Elon University.

 

 

Kelsey

 

I looked out the car window, staring at the endless fields and roads, little ranches here and there. Then, the flat lands began to rise transforming into the lush foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the farmhouses morphed into the brick buildings of Clemson’s campus. The green grass and blue sky, dotted with glistening white clouds, made the college look just like it did in the brochure. In the distance, I could see the waters of the Hartwell Lake, freckled with sailboats ("About Clemson University"). The cobalt blues, scarlet reds, and lemony yellows gave the lake a picturesque look, like it could be a scene in a painting. Turning my head back towards Clemson, I absorbed the view, students sprawled out on blankets, flipping through textbooks and eating lunch. A group of boys were tossing a frisbee back and forth, and some girls were practicing a dance nearby on a building’s front steps.

“Wow! This is... beautiful!” my mom exclaimed.

She was right. The warmth of the sun and the cool breeze made this campus seem like the happiest place on earth. Clemson University captivated me immediately. We had made the nine-hour drive down to South Carolina at the end of my summer before my final year in high school. Seeing the gorgeous campus made me wish I could start college now. I wanted to be a freshman again, not at high school but at Clemson.

We arrived at the Visitor Center where we were greeted by an admissions officer. ("Campus Tours"). Everyone working on the campus was so friendly and happy. The tour guide told us about all of the social activities, the sororities, the clubs, the sports. By the end of the tour I was sold. This is where I wanted to be.

 

 

 

Finally, senior year started. The first week of school and reality sunk in. This was my last year at Upper Arlington High School. Now came the hard part, applying for schools. I really had fallen in love with Clemson, but I needed back up schools. The thought of not being a Clemson Tiger worried me but it was possible. I couldn’t count on anything.

Throughout second quarter, I rushed through my homework every night to make time for college applications. I applied to UNC Chapel Hill, Miami University, Vanderbilt, University of Georgia, Indiana University, University of Kansas and of course, Clemson University. Vanderbilt, Miami and UNC were all common application. That way I could easily write one application covering my academic, personal, and extracurricular information, as well as my test scores and essay.  (Grove). Applications for Indiana, Georgia, Kansas and Clemson, however were all specific to the school. I made the decisions to apply to the honors programs and any available scholarships programs. It felt like every week, every day, every hour, I was writing a new essay to submit.

While proofreading one of the essays to Indiana, I caught a huge mistake; I had written “Clemson” in the essay on why I wanted to go to Indiana. It looked like my subconscious had already chosen the school for me. I liked all of the schools, they all had good programs for my interests, especially for a technical or science major. Clemson even ranks 28th in bioengineering graduate program ("Rankings and Brags").

 

 

 

Finally, a few days before winter break, a letter arrived. The bright red lettering revealed it was from Indiana University. It was the first college out of seven to reply to my application, the first of seven to accept me, the first of seven to snap me into the reality that my next four years and possibly the rest of my life, would soon be determined by my response to one of these letters. I visited Indiana University earlier that summer. It was nice but it still wasn’t my top choice, Indiana certainly didn’t have the warm climate like South Carolina. Clemson still stuck out in mind. I thought back to the beautiful campus.

It was two days before winter break would end. I enjoyed movie nights and dinner dates with Marianne, Sarah and Madeline. The school musical was in full swing rehearsal mode. I tried to keep my focus on learning my lines and perfecting my singing but I couldn’t help but think of college. I realized second semester would start. My last semester of high school, ever. When I went to rehearsal that afternoon, I was too distracted by my thoughts to focus on my singing. Everything was coming to an end. I would be in college next year! But would I be at Clemson? Or Indiana? Or Miami? Would I get in anywhere?

Driving home from rehearsal, flurries of snow drifted down, transforming into water droplets racing down the windshield. The wind nipped at my bare ears and fingertips, sending an instant chill through my body as I walked up to my front door. I walked through the kitchen and instantly my eyes were caught by a white envelope. A big, white envelope. A big, white envelope with “Clemson University” printed in the upper right corner. My heart stopped. I ripped it open to pull out a neatly folded letter.

“Congratulations, Kelsey, you have been accepted to Clemson University!” the letter read. Or rather, the letter shouted. I ran to the living room, tripping over the coffee table and almost faceplanting on the carpet.

“Mom, I got in to Clemson!” I gasped–running is not my forte. She smiled and gave me a hug, no shock on her face or anything. I tilted my head towards her, questioning her reaction.

“Kels, I knew you would get in,” she explained, her smile growing wider and wider. I plopped down on the couch next to her, laying my head on her shoulder, just like I used to when I was little.

We both just sighed with relief, with happiness, with awe. I could already feel the sun on my face. I imagined myself sitting outside at the Clemson Library where a beautiful reflection pool was built. A big smile came across my face.

 

 

Madeline

 

“BEEP BEEP BEEP!” the alarm clocked screamed. The morning sun shined into my eyes through the cracks in the blinds, waking me up to the first day of my final year at Upper Arlington High School.  

“Madeline get up for school!” my mother’s familiar voice called from downstairs.  

It was finally the beginning of my senior year. I began to think back to all my years of school in UA. The first day of kindergarten, fifth grade graduation, sixth grade camp, freshman orientation, and now senior year. Senior year was going to have a lot in store for me: prom, the musical, college applications, parties, senior parking spots and more. As I sifted through my closet trying to find the perfect outfit, I started to realized I need to start thinking about where my future would take me after high school. I walked downstairs to find the usual first day breakfast of pancakes and bacon.  

“I can’t believe that you are really a senior!” my mom cooed.

I laughed as I shook my head, I was just as shocked as she was. After breakfast, I grabbed my keys, got in my car and started out towards the high school. Pulling in to my spot in the senior parking lot was the most satisfying feeling. I could tell that this year would be unforgettable.  

 

 

 

As the beginning of the year progressed, I realized this was the time to start thinking about where my future would take me after high school. Day after day, between trying to juggle school work, capstone, and keeping my grades up, I thought about my future and which colleges I would apply to. I really had thousands upon thousands of paths I could take, now I had to chose the one that was best for me. I started narrowing down my options. Although I didn’t have a connection to any school quite yet, I knew a few I wanted a few things for sure.  

“I don’t want to be close to home. I want to experience new things and new people,” I thought out loud to my friends during lunch.

“Where are you applying?” Sarah asked.

“Well, maybe, somewhere, like...I don’t know yet, somewhere with a good business program maybe,” I replied.

Once I got home that day, I really started to think more about where I would apply. The stress was becoming too much I decided it was best to focus on enjoy the beginning of my senior year and my grades.

 

 

 

Fall arrived and the time had come to apply but I still felt unsure. I decided to visit some prospective schools. After visiting Depaul, Loyola, Marquette, Miami of Ohio, and Indiana, I was tired of making visits. Although it was great to have been able to set foot on each campus, each tour became less and less insightful and they all started to blur together.  

Now that the tours were over and each college was fresh in my mind, I decided it was time to actually start the application process. Sitting at my desk, I pulled out a loose leaf paper from my AP Government binder and started to write out a list of colleges. I scribbled out Loyola University of Chicago, Indiana University, Marquette University, Boston University, Northeastern University, and New York University, and Miami of Ohio. I was finally face-to-face with my future.  Once my list was finished, I looked at the sheet of paper and smiled to myself, I had taken the first step.  

I opened my laptop and typed “Common Application” in the the search bar. The Common App website popped on to the screen. Typing in each university, I was pleasantly surprised to find that every school I wanted to go to accepted the Common App. Once I had found that out, I decided to call it a night.  

 

 

 

For the next couple of weeks, my whole life was consumed with applications, each hour of my day was spent on either the Common App website or one of the universities’ websites. Keeping my grades up as well as trying to focus on applying to colleges was very stressful. Although filling out the applications wasn’t all that difficult, all the other things that come along with the application process made it much more stressful. I spent each night trying to come up with ideas for the application essays. Having to write multiple creative and sentimental stories took up the majority of my time.

Each night I would go to bed exhausted, worrying that I had forgotten to complete something. Having to remember to send in my test scores and transcripts also added to the stress of the process. College and applications were always on my mind, I looked forward to the day I would be able to click the “submit” button. Once that day had finally arrived, I doubled checked each box on the application. I sat on my bed staring into the bright screen of my laptop. Making sure that I hadn’t forgotten anything, my test scores and transcript were there, my essays were error free. I needed everything to be perfect.  

Each box was checked, all the lines were filled out, everything they wanted was there.  After double and triple checking over each application, I finally was able to click one “submit” button after another.  A sense of relief flooded my body with each click, it was all becoming real to me. A weight was lifted off of my shoulders, the application process was finished and it was now time to take my mind off worrying about being accepted or not and focus on having fun during my last year of high school.  

 

 

 

It was my last choir class before winter break and everyone in the vocal music department knew what time of year it was. Mr. Kauffman walked in with the “In The Heights” folder full of music and scripts for this years musical

“Everybody remember to sign up for In The Heights!” he screamed at my class over the loud ringing of the bell.

As I walked into the hall, I saw the blank sign-up sheet taped to the mint green brick wall of the music hall. I grabbed a pencil out of my backpack and scribbled my name on to the first line. With each letter of my name I started to reminisce on the past three years of musicals. The musical has always been something that I’ve enjoyed and I was excited to cherish every moment of each rehearsal.  

The week we returned from winter break we started rehearsals. Learning choreography, song lyrics, lines, and stage queues where just the beginning of what would become the highly praised Upper Arlington High School Musical.

 

 

 

Finally it was the final song of the final show, I looked around to all of the familiar faces on stage with me. We all smiled and sang our hearts out to the last song we’d sing on this stage together. At the end of the final show, the rest of the seniors and I participated in the tradition of senior speeches. I joined the rest of the cast in the emotional end of my last musical while at the high school.

Now that the musical was over, I could once again focus on college and school work. As the acceptance letters arrived from every school that I had applied, to the pressure was on. With each “Congratulations Madeline!” I could feel myself becoming more and more stressed. With seven schools to chose from my options were narrowed down however still wide open. I knew it needed to be my decision and I was going to take all the time I needed to make it.

Along with trying to decide on a college, I had family and friends opinions coming at me from all directions. Each day, I would come to have a conversation with parents about how I didn’t want to be close to home but my parents were set on trying to get her to go to Miami.   

“Miami is cheaper, closer to home, two of your siblings have already gone there,” my dad would say to me almost every night at dinner.

“We know so many people who have loved it there,” my mother would add in.

My parents were so intent on convincing me to choose Miami; their bias was becoming unbearable. My dad’s comments were the most annoying, he would say things like,  “You know Loyola is in the middle of a really dangerous neighborhood, it's just not that safe...You'd be spending so much time on the train back and forth from the downtown campus, why would you want that? Now Miami, that's a great school and the campus is beautiful” and “You know Miami is number one in public schools for teachers that are committed to teaching and its the third best public school in America!” ("Academics").  With all of this talk about college I became less and less interested. In all honesty, I was more excited to be done discussing college than actually going. I was hoping my senior year would be less stressful but with the idea of college always looming over me it was hard to focus on anything else. I knew I needed to make my decision soon so it wouldn’t consume my whole life.

My parents constant bantering about Miami honestly made me not want to go there.  Obviously, I valued my parents opinions but I knew I needed to make the decision without any help.  Going to Miami would make me feel as if I was letting my parents choose for me.   My friends and I were taking pictures for our graduation party soon and I couldn’t let them down just because I couldn’t make a decision.  I knew that the decision of where to go to college would be the biggest decision I had ever made so far in my 18 years and I needed to make it on my own.

 

 

Sarah

 

This is it, Sarah, I thought to myself as I sat down at my desk and lifted open my macbook. I was about to begin writing my common application essay. Weird. Weird and stressful. Wasn’t it just yesterday that my mom dropped me off for the first day of freshman year? The time truly had flown by. And now I was beginning to write a paper less that two pages long that would help decide my future. But at least I knew where I wanted to go, unlike my best friend Kelsey who was applying to difficult schools all over the country. Georgia, Clemson, Texas, Indiana...and most of the schools she was applying to didn’t even accept the common app! Nope. That was certainly not for me.

Even though I was applying to three schools, Ohio State University, Miami University and University of Kentucky, there was a clear number one. I was born to be a Buckeye. Growing up cheering for Ohio State on TV, spending countless afternoons in the parking lot outside the Shoe at my dad’s huge tailgate, attending at least fifty buckeye football games in my lifetime, and riding bikes with my friends around campus on sunny spring days, the choice was not difficult. All I had to do was get accepted.

 

 

 

One warm Saturday night in September, Kelsey, Madeline, Marianne and I were all hanging out at Marianne’s house when we decided that a spontaneous Waffle House run would be the best use of our time. The four of us ran outside to the driveway where Marianne’s mom’s gold minivan was parked, otherwise known to us as “Golden Bear”. We slid open the doors, dove into the car and raced to on one of our most common weekend destinations while Marianne cranked up the volume on her favorite rap CD. Over plates of fluffy chocolate chip waffles, we talked about some of the things we were looking forward to in our last year of high school, and, of course, college.

I was looking forward to being a sixth grade camp counselor, cheering my senior season as captain of the basketball cheerleaders, and, of course, senior spring break with a few of my best friends in the Dominican Republic. Madeline was excited about getting accepted to the Scotland exchange program, and she and Kelsey couldn’t wait to start rehearsals for their last musical at the high school. Marianne anxiously awaited the letter from her dream school, Elon University, which would be arriving in just over a month.

 

 

 

One cold December afternoon, I received my first college acceptance letter. It was from the University of Kentucky. A few days later, my letter from Miami came. Although I was excited to be accepted into both schools, I felt even more relieved just to be able to say that I was officially going to college. Finally, the day came where the admissions board at OSU was supposed to post online the status of applicants who applied Early Action. It was January 1st, still winter break, and I could refresh the website all day–which is exactly what I did. Nothing. Finally, after an exhausting day spent mostly clicking a computer mouse and dazing at a monitor, I decided to call it a night.

Hours later, at about four o’clock in the morning, I woke up. I couldn't sleep because I had a bad cold, so I decided to check my application status one more time to see if it had changed. I opened my laptop. The web page was already up, left there from the night before. One final time I moved the mouse over the circular arrow in the top left corner of the screen. I clicked it, and watched the page disappear for a split second. It reappeared.

Accepted.

"Mom! Dad!" I yelled. I ran to their bedroom.

"What, Sarah!" My my mom whispered harshly.

"It's four in the morning," my dad added.

"I got in! I got accepted to OSU!"

They were excited, and quickly congratulated me before returning to sleep.

All of the sudden, I wasn’t so sure anymore. Did I really want to go to OSU? Was it too close to home? My mom went to Kentucky, and loved it… would I fit best there? And Miami has such a beautiful campus. Over the next few weeks, my life was packed full of basketball games, midterm preparation and the ever nagging voice in the back of my head asking where I would be headed next August.

 

 

 

It was Christmas morning, and all of the presents had been opened. My mom, dad, brother David, who was home from Miami for break, and I sat around the fireplace enjoying the quiet and stress-free morning. I went up to my room where I grabbed the last present of the morning, which I had to give to my dad. I brought it back down to the family room.

“I have one more present for you, Dad,” I told him.

“Thank you, Sarah!” he replied, clearly taken by surprise. He carefully peeled off the red wrapping paper to reveal a large white coffee mug. On the cup were three words printed in bold scarlet, “Ohio State Dad”. My family was thrilled that I had finally made my decision, and I was even happier to have committed to the school I knew would be perfect for me.

 

 

 

The remainder of my senior year brought wonderful and memorable experiences with great friends. I got to cheer on the floor of the Schottenstein Center thanks to the hard work of the boy’s basketball team who made it all the way to the state championship game. In March, I spent a week at a beautiful resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic with Madeline and Marianne. These were two experiences that I will never forget with friends I wish I never had to leave. But we would be leaving each other soon, and although I couldn't wait to have the college experience and live on my own for the first time, leaving for school next fall would be bittersweet. Leaving my friends would be the “bitter” part.

Despite what all of my other friends think, I know we’ll stay close for a while. How could we not? How can you forget about the people you have been making wonderful memories with for years? And of course, we would all see each other when we came home for breaks.

I often catch myself saying “go bears” to finish a sentence when I’m talking about something that happened. Whether it be something funny, something stupid, something happy, a terrible mistake or a great accomplishment, “go bears” always seems to bring closure. Recently, I’ve been thinking about how I’ll soon be a golden bear alum, and “go bears” might not seem so relevant. But that’s wrong. “Go bears” represents the community that I have spent my entire life in. It represents my classmates, and all of the things we have accomplished throughout our four years in high school. Four years of high school filled with more than we could have possibly imagined will always be relevant. They are four years that I will remember forever.

 

 

 

On Saturday morning, Sarah, Kelsey and Marianne met at First Watch to have breakfast. They all arrived wearing a college T-shirt. Marianne’s reading “Elon University” in orange font, Sarah in an Ohio State University baseball style tee, and Kelsey wearing a shirt with “Clemson” printed across. After breakfast they would meet at the high school to take their picture for their graduation party they would be having with three of their other friends. Madeline was running late to breakfast and her friends still didn’t know which college she had chosen.

“I bet she goes with Loyola,” Kelsey said, taking a sip of coffee.

“But her parents are pushing for Miami,” Marianne replied.

“I hope she goes to Miami. Then she’ll be close and we can visit more,” Sarah said.

“Aww, you guys, we won’t be able to see each other anymore,” Kelsey reminded them.

“Yeah but think of all the fun we will be having! We’ll make new friends! And besides, we are all coming back for Christmas break,” Marianne reassured her friends.

Out of the corner of her eye, Sarah saw Madeline walk in the restaurant. She immediately looked at her torso, but Madeline was wearing a jacket. Walking up to their table, the girls looked at her with anticipation. Madeline slowly unzipped her jacket revealing her shirt. It read Miami in bold, red print.

“I knew it!” Marianne said excitedly.

Madeline grinned, but her emerald eyes seemed to lack that glimmer of hope present in all her friends’ eyes.

“It’s just, so many UA people go there; you guys know I wanted a new start, and I’m not sure if it’ll truly be a ‘new’ beginning,” she explained.

The girls got silence for a few moments. For four years the four of them had called home Upper Arlington. They knew the town, the school and the residents so well. Now, they all knew their new home: Ohio, North Carolina and South Carolina. Although they would be miles apart, they knew distance couldn’t diminish their friendship.

 

Works Cited

"About Elon University." Elon University. Elon University, n.d. Web. 18 May 2014.

Grove, Allen. "The Common Application." About.com. About.com, 2014. Web. 18 May 2014.

"Rankings and Brags." Clemson University, South Carolina. Clemson University, 2014. Web. 18 May 2014.

"About Clemson University." Clemson University, South Carolina. Clemson University, n.d. Web. 19 May 2014.

"Campus Tours." Clemson University, South Carolina. Clemson University, 2014. Web. 18 May 2014.

"Academics." Miami University. Miami University. Web. 19 May 2014.