From a Cougar to a Big Red

   After close to seven months, plus years of hard work, I have reached the top of this mountain. I'm going to Phillips Exeter Academy! I still can't believe its real. Every time I remember that I actually made it, a rush of excitement, relief, and fear comes over me. I beat the odds. I made a leap and landed on the other side.

   Phillips Exeter Academy is the Ivy League of prep schools. It's considered the 6^th best high school in the nation. They never let you forget that! Anyway, I'm an on cloud nine that I get to attend this wonderful school. After I was accepted I kept thinking “Why me?” “Why do I deserve this?”. More time has passed and I know that I was picked for a reason. The admission committee knows what they are talking about. They look for students that are more than just grades, they look for students that are mature, passionate, and hard-working. I am not the smartest kid at Kennedy but I work hard for every grade I get while being a competitive athlete.

   As I was on my on-campus interview at Exeter I felt that feeling. The feeling of “This is the place for me” and I was meant to go to this school. It's destiny! I am made to move away and go to prep school. I was born to do it. Moving away doesn't scare me. I love meeting to new people and experiencing things I would never get the chance to experience if I stayed in Iowa. Iowa is a great place to grow up but I'm ready to move on. The one thing that has always bugged me about Iowa is that most people just don't ever leave. It is something I will NEVER understand. Only about 30 kids of a graduating class at Kennedy will go to an out-of-state college. This is just sad. I'm sorry but there is so much more of the country, and the world, to see. Challenge yourself and don't do what everyone else does. Don't follow that boring path of going to a state school and than just settling down here.

   The fact that everyone just stays here is why I have to get out. I need to get out fast before I get sucked into the flow of the common Kennedy Grad. Everyday I become more grateful that I get to go to Phillips Exeter and I am truly blessed to have the chance to leave. John Green once said, “It is so hard to leave – until you leave. And then it is the easiest goddamn thing in the world.” I will always be an Iowan and a cougar at heart but it's time to start a new chapter in my life.

   Soon I will be sitting on a plane as I get my last glimpse of the rows of corn. At that moment, I'm not sure how I will be feeling but I know I will be flying away towards a new life, a new chapter.  (512)