Sitting in your junior year English class, staring at your assignment. It reads “First Draft Common App Essay”. You don’t end up writing anything, because there’s no reason to yet.

9 months until deadline. 

Creating a username and password, using a new email address that you made just for this so your email doesn’t get filled with a million messages. 

5 months until deadline.

Scrolling aimlessly through pages and pages and pages of options, limiting your search criteria to try and make everything less intimidating. Looking through tuition and acceptance rates and majors for hours at a time.

3 months until deadline.

Asking your English teacher, the one that you went to for everything last year, if he will write your letter for you. After all, he knows you as a student and as a member of his club, so who better to ask?

1 month until deadline.

Answering all the questions, some simple like name and address, others more intimidating. Leaving “Intended Major” as undecided because you still have no idea. Selecting “Preferred start term” as Fall 2023, less than a year away.

27 days until deadline.

Sitting at the kitchen table, an argument with your mom brewing again over the same thing. You’ve tried to fill out this form 3 times now, each of you getting frustrated and giving up every time before. Tax forms and pay stubs litter the table and float to the floor as you stomp to your room again.

19 days until deadline.

Beginning to panic, staring at the blank document on your screen, trying to write anything you can think of. You should have listened junior year, should have written something. But now you have nothing with practically no time to write it.

12 days until deadline.

Letter submitted. Transcript requested. All the questions are answered. Almost everything completed, everything you worked for for 12 years reflected in one place. Everything except that essay, the one you can’t seem to write.

5 days until deadline.

Your first all-nighter of the school year. By the end your eyes are dry and your head is pounding. But you’re done, and you know you’re almost there. 

2 days until deadline.

Sitting in the chair of the counselor’s office, your Chromebook on the desk next to you. Everything has been gone over, 4 times, maybe 6, you can’t keep track anymore. But you hit the button, first submit, and then confirm. The green check mark appears, the confetti blasts over the screen, and that’s it. Now all you can do is wait.

Submitted.