Even since I can remember, a certain school’s colors represented what proud parents and crazed football fans embodied- and I loved it. Growing up in the suburbs of this University, there was no question in my mind where I wanted to go to college. As I got older, I became more and more entranced with all the aspects that my dream school had to offer, and when it came time to start sending out college applications, I knew where my most important one was going. Given this, you can imagine my disappointment when I heard back from the University and was told that I had been deferred. “Okay, not the end of the world”, I thought, “I can definitely still get in.” Unfortunately, I did not.

I spent a long time going back and forth trying to decide if my gut-wrenching reality was as bad as I thought. There were other schools, but none that I wanted to go to as badly as I wanted to attend this one. Still, I had no choice but to choose another school and hope for the absolute best with my journey moving forward.

I chose to attend a different University, and to be honest with you, it was great! I made some incredible friends, lived in a beautiful environment, and had all the social opportunities that I could have dreamed of. Yet, something was still missing. That feeling we all get when we’ve thought so far into the future only to learn that the aspirations we’ve had for ourselves may never become reality; it’s heartbreaking. The education that I craved when I was in high school was still very strong within me, and I knew that I would never be completely satisfied until I had all those things that this dream school could give me. So, I applied. Again.

In the winter of my freshman year, I went down the daunting path of filling out another application. I wrote essays all over again, sent in transcripts, and waited anxiously for the reply from the Admissions team. Roughly a month and a half after all my materials had been received, I got a response. “Samantha, after further evaluation of your app…” I stopped reading there. I knew what the rest of the email was going to say, and I couldn’t bear to look at another rejection letter.

The University recommended that I apply again when I had more class exposure and experience under my belt. I was devastated. Notwithstanding the words of my parents as they calmly said, “you got in, you have the grades, you just need more experience, it’s not a done deal” I felt defeated. Why did they need more? Couldn’t I just give up? Yes, I could have, but I didn’t want to. What I wanted to do was to take their advice and expose myself to different classes that I found interesting, but also ones that would help me to be a more “well rounded” student. I wanted their recognition, but, more importantly, I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.

Fast forward to fall quarter of sophomore year. I had applied a third time and knew all I was waiting on was confirmation that they received my most current grades, and that they would let me in. The wait was a long one, tiresome and full of stress and emotions, until one day, I heard back. And guess what? They needed MORE information. They were slightly more articulate this time and told me that they wanted to wait to give me a final decision after I finished my first quarter. I was done. I called both my parents furious. “What more can I do to show them this is my dream? I am so tired of being rejected by them. What do I have to do to be seen?”. Surprisingly, neither my mom or dad responded the way I anticipated. Instead, they said, “If you don’t want to try anymore, don’t. But if this is that important to you, it would be a shame for you to give it up after all this effort.” I knew they were right, and that I would never forgive myself if I didn’t give it one last shot. And the fourth transcript was sent.

A month later, I got the email entitled, “CONGRATULATIONS!” and it’s safe to say I was the happiest person in the world that day. I would be lying if I said I didn’t mutter the words, “I hate ______ for not letting me in! I hate them for making me go through all this!”, before those words popped up on my screen, but seeing those big capital letters just reminded me why I loved them so much. My dream was finally a reality.

I know I am not the only one who has had an experience like this. We have all experienced rejection at one point or another. Unfortunately, that’s just the way life works, but what we all must remember is that “no” is a word far too common in the world’s vocabulary.

People will say no. Moreover, the world seems physically designed to tell you no repeatedly, but only you decide whether you want to listen. Rejection hurts: from your high school crush, from your ideal job, and from your dream school, but nothing hurts more than having the regret of not knowing if you had what it took to make your dream a reality. The regret that you will experience from walking away from this goal of yours will sting much more than any “no” ever could.

So, if you want something, go full force after it. You may not get it the first time, you may not even achieve it the second or the third, but if it means that much to you, keep going back at it. And when you’ve forced down the rejection and achieved your goal, the only “no” will be one that comes from you when people say, “Do you ever regret spending all your time and energy on one thing when you could have been doing something else?”. Let me tell you, that will be the first time that you love the word “no”.