I was a straight-A student and honestly thought I’d get into at least most of the colleges I applied to, if not my dream school.

But those big fat envelopes full of happy news just didn’t come.

I was rejected from nearly every single university I had obsessed over for months, except for my very last choice–a school way too close to home for comfort, with a gnarly party-school reputation. I’d only applied there in the first place to make my mom happy. But in the end, that was my only option.

From the moment I got there, I started thinking about how much better everything would have been at my dream school. I spent my first year there totally miserable and plotting my escape, staring longingly at the websites of the faraway fancypants colleges that didn’t want anything to do with me the first time around.

And then, the first quarter of my sophomore year, I stumbled into this one class (bookbinding, who knew?) and it changed everything. It was love, I was hooked, and I have my last-choice school to thank for it.

I wouldn’t have been able to study what I did anywhere else, because no other college in the country has that particular undergrad major. I wouldn’t have made the friends I did, wouldn’t have gotten to spend time between classes at the beach like I did, at any of the schools I wanted so badly to attend when I was doing the application shuffle.

I’m not going to lie to you and say it was perfect. The party school atmosphere left a lot to be desired, and my program certainly wasn’t everything I wanted it to be, but no college is going to fulfill every one of your hopes and dreams because . . . well, because that’s just impossible.

I know this sounds crazy–but I’m kind of glad I didn’t get into my dream school!

Every college wants you to believe that they have that amazingly perfect mix of brilliant professors, beautiful people, cool cafes, and a sunny lawn to sun yourself on between classes–but the fact is that no school can offer you everything. And the secret is that some schools that get ignored or put down a lot actually have a lot to offer, too.

Life is weird and circuitous and unpredictable, and if you just open yourself up to the possibility that something awesome can happen anywhere, in college or not, then awesome things will probably come up. Because—and I’m fairly certain this is true about most things–it’s not about where you are but who you are, and that, my friend, is not something that fits into an admissions packet.

What’s your dream school? Were you ever rejected from a college you had your heart set on? Tell me all about it in the comments!

Should You Be Single When You Go To College? Let’s Discuss!

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