How to Deal With a College Rejection
Even though you know intellectually that nothing is guaranteed, that hardly anyone will get through the college application process without hearing “sorry,” that life will be filled with both “yeses” and “nos” … it’s still a kick in the gut when you get that rejection.
I came across this poem some years ago by children’s and YA author Rachel Vail, and she puts it all into words better than I ever could. Rachel, thank you.
“JUDGED”
They are not oracles, only people
Working with necessarily limited information
They can’t see the whole of you
The way your smile lights the room
When a friend succeeds
The way you tried again
When the less humiliating tack would’ve been to walk away
The way you put your soul
Your heart your thoughts your work your hopes
On that form
In a list
Quantified
Spread them out like jewels on the diamond merchant’s black velvet tray
Here I am, you said to them;
This is me
This is what I have done, accomplished, achieved
Here is what I have to show for my seventeen years on the planet.
Asking, silent but full-throated,
Do you want me?
Am I enough?
The most marrow-scraping questions a person can ask
Telling them why they are your first choice
A great fit
Convincing yourself, in writing the words, that it was true.
Maybe the first love letter you’ve ever written.
And then you may hear back: no thank you.
It will feel like all the air is sucked out of your lungs
Like the world itself is turning you away
Passing judgment on you
People will tell you, Don’t take it personally
As if what you had put down wasn’t personal
People will say, It wasn’t meant to be
As if there is some rational, overarching plan
That includes you getting punched in the nose by this
Hideous horror of NO.
Some will say It doesn’t matter.
But the feeling, the rip, the punch to your heart?
Matters.
Because you matter.
You aren’t a baby anymore, though you’re still pretty new here.
You aren’t all pudge and drool and blank slate, all giggly delight in a shaft of light
This is one scar among probably more than a couple by now on your
Still somewhat smooth self
But here is what you can do with it,
After you rage or cry or eat your sorrow down,
Today, and maybe tomorrow:
The next day, say, “Their loss,” and pretend to know that is true.
And then begin to rebuild.
Like a practitioner of the Japanese art of kintsugi will hold
The pieces of a delicate broken cup in his hands,
Gently seeing the beauty within brokenness
And then will set about fitting the pieces back together,
Not trying to hide the seams but filling them with bright gold or platinum
Exposing the perfection revealed by the imperfections,
The loveliness of the cracks and the fissures themselves
And the beautiful power of fixing his broken cup himself
You are the artist of your self
You are the creator of your life
You will hear NO more than you will hear YES
And neither answer will be the final verdict on you
You are awesome
You are loved
You matter
You are enough
Get through these crappy days
With courage and hope
Because what good is crap?
It’s just stinking poo except when it is
Fertilizer
To help young things grow.
© Rachel Vail, March 1, 2017