All throughout high school and my visit to University of Georgia’s First Look, I could only dream of being an actual student there.

The friendly atmosphere, school spirit, and competitive academic drive within the students inspired me.

As the years went on, I started doubting myself and my dream of attending my dream school. The condescending trend in my GPA and motivation reflected this doubt. However, senior year rolled around, and I knew that I needed to work hard to get where I wanted to be. I spent weeks at tutoring to improve my test scores and took the most rigorous courses that my school provided. I spent so much time and dedication on my UGA application.

I made sure to ask the teachers that knew me the best for teacher recommendations and asked several friends to read over my essays. It was not an easy process, especially knowing that I was almost positive that I wasn’t going to get accepted. After looking over my application a couple hundred times, it was time to turn it in. My hands couldn’t stop shaking and I was not mentally stable. This moment was something I’ve been thinking and praying about for years. While waiting to hear back, my anxiety and negative thoughts worsened.

Checking the status page and admissions blog became a norm, even though nothing changed or updated as often as I expected. The week before results were released, I prayed not for an acceptance, but for peace and self control. As the date approached closer, everyone would be talking about “the big day.” Seeing smarter people with higher statistics than me be nervous about their results made me more anxious. It was finally 4PM on March 16, 2018, and the results had finally been released. My phone blew up with texts asking me to open my status page. I quickly opened the page without hesitation because I knew my chances of being denied were high. Little did I know I was wrong! So many emotions filled my mind and heart and my first reflex was to cry. I ran downstairs to tell my mom and we both cried uncontrollably.

More importantly, through this good news, I was able to experience God at first-hand. It is truly crazy and amazing how He works. I was so set on attending another school, but that was definitely a self-driven plan. Through all that He’s given me these past 18 years, I have never seen Him answer my prayers so precisely and accurately. I pray that as I take on these next 4 years, I will only glorify Him more and more as my days go on. Go dawgs!