My College Decision & What's Next
(Watch the video above)
GoFundMe - Help Imani Get to Temple University
In America, May 1st is usually the day where people make their final decision on which college they would like to attend. Some people make their decisions earlier than that but my journey took time. After applying to 15 colleges in January, it was a waiting game. After 4 weeks, I got my first acceptance. I think we can all agree that the feeling of being accepted is amazing. I felt proud of myself. After my three more acceptances, I got my first rejection.
At the time, I didn’t care about it. “It’s just one reject out of the 15 schools I applied to. It’s not that deep.” I told myself. But then another reject came. And another. Then several after that. My two top schools hurt the most. I felt stupid, lost, & confused. Looking back at how I felt during this time & how I feel now, I’m happy that I didn’t get into those schools. I learned that whatever you do after high school if you're going to college, community school, or not going to college at all, doesn’t define you. Sometimes if something doesn’t work out, It wasn’t meant to be. Yes, I was upset and hurt. But getting rejected from those other schools helped me make my final decision.
“Was I bitter? Absolutely. Hurt? You bet your sweet ass I was hurt. Who doesn't feel a part of their heart break at rejection. You ask yourself every question you can think of, what, why, how come, and then your sadness turns to anger. That's my favorite part. It drives me, feeds me, and makes one hell of a story.”
― Jennifer Salaiz
I’m happy to say that I’ll be attending Temple University!!!
I felt some weight lifted off my shoulders when I saw my acceptance letter. My mother went to Temple & I can tell that it meant a lot to her when we found out I got in as well. Temple has everything I could ask for in a college.
It’s in a city area that isn’t too far away from home. I live about 2 to 3 hours away from Temple University. Which is a perfect distance for me so it's not a hassle getting home. Temple University is in the center of North Philadelphia. It's a very urban area which I like. There's a bunch of transportation around campus so it won't be hard to get from place to place.
People from a bunch of different backgrounds attend that school. Diversity was something that was a huge big plus for me. I was able to see my future classmates, and I'm pleased to say that there is a wide variety of people from all over the world coming to Temple. I knew from my figure skating years, it is not the most diverse sport. As I was one of the very few black females there, I would often get judged and feel uncomfortable. Going to Temple, I know that I will see a wide variety of different ethnicities and cultures. I'm very excited to learn more about different people’s backgrounds and learn more.
There’s a lot of opportunities there. I was accepted into the School of Science and Technology at Temple. Science has always been my favorite class so I am proud to say that I'm going to be a major in chemistry. If you have been following my blog or Instagram, you know that I'm a huge skin lover. I research it all the time because I've dealt with my own acne issues. I'm going into the chemistry field to become a cosmetic chemist. I am thrilled to start classes and to see where this journey takes me.
So what’s next?? Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, my parents have been laid off. Like I said before, my mother went to Temple and she's still paying off her student loans. She did not want me to go that route. So we decided to choose the route of scholarships and grants. We even created a GoFundMe page. If anybody could tell us of any scholarships or grants out there, We would very much appreciate that. Also if anybody else would like to check out the GoFundMe page, I would really appreciate that as well.
I am very excited about this new chapter in my life. Hard work always pays off and I'm very proud to say that I have a strong support system. I also now realized I can do anything I put my mind to. I'm very proud of myself and everybody who graduated high school and got into college should be as well. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this!
