Everyone knows the feeling: that sense of anticipation, slowly building up and rising throughout your day. Beginning the moment your fingers clicked the submission, the send button, or when they left the paper you put into the mailbox. Every day, you check for updates, search for any kind of news on your submission, and wait day in and day out for the response. It eats away at your life, and it clouds your mind until the day of the response.
You go through a rollercoaster of emotions: first you feel excited and confident, ready for the day of the response, then nervous as the day slowly ticks down, feeling anxious and scared of the inevitability. The night before, you feel no solace, no calm, and no comfort because you know that tomorrow is the day you had been waiting for, and there is nothing to accelerate or prolong the experience.
Then, it comes. The email, the message, or the score. Maybe it's the first few numbers, or the first few words of the email. They thank you for submitting, explaining that the competition was very rough, and tell you that you had a solid chance of getting what you wanted, only making you feel more envious and disheartened by their decision. Then comes the rejection. "We are sorry to inform you." Words that hit you like a truck. The time you spent on your application, your studies, or your preparation all feel like they were washed down the drain.
For me, rejection has occurred many times in my life, and every single time, I feel sad, lose motivation, and question why it had to be me. Why couldn't I have gotten this one opportunity? Why did someone else, whom I believed did not deserve it as much as I did, get it? Rejection is something that occurs in everyone's lives. Each time it occurs, it stings; it makes you question why you continue. However, in every rejection, there will be that one acceptance. That one message that erases your previous "failures" and makes you forget about all those times you sat through the apologies. Even if you might not feel it, rejection is something that truly makes us human, and it makes those victories and acceptances so much more valuable.
Rejections are something that you can always learn from. You learn from rejections, and from them, you grow and become stronger than before. I remember a few months ago, I had a day filled with rejection, a day where I felt that nothing could ever get worse than that day. I did badly on my test, got rejected from a program, and got back my SAT score, a score that I did not feel reflected the hours upon hours of hard work I put into studying. I just felt worthless. There was hatred inside me, envy of others for achieving what I sought. However, then one email changed my perspective. It was an acceptance to a very prestigious program that I hadn't expected to be accepted to. That completely washed away the worry, anxiety, and self-hatred. I felt proud, and the many rejections before only amplified the joy I felt in that moment.
Life is truly a rollercoaster. Some days you will feel like you hit rock bottom; however, without those rock bottoms, without those days you feel like you truly cannot go any lower, the accomplishments you achieve will not be as joyful and satisfying. Embrace your rejections, your flaws, and your mistakes, because without them, your achievements, your accomplishments, and your acceptances will not mean as much to you. Those rejections shape who you are, mold you into the person you want to be, and direct you on the right path to success. Rejections will always sting in the moment and it can make you question the time you put in, and your own self worth.
Looking back, however, I've learned that rejection is not proof that you failed. It's proof that you tried your hardest, but there might be something that you are still missing, something you need to still grow in. It is the process that makes the eventual acceptance more meaningful in the long run. Your wins, accomplishments, and successes have more weight when you know the time and effort behind it and the many disappointments that came before. Focus on yourself, laugh at the rejections you face, because in the end, it just makes those wins all the more delightful. A man doesn't truly know the satisfaction and joy of food until he has gone through hunger, just like you might not appreciate true success unless you have been able to sit with rejection.
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Resources & Support
If this story resonated with you, the following resources may help support students navigating rejection, academic pressure, self-worth struggles, anxiety, and personal growth.
Broad Shoulders Initiative is not a crisis service, medical provider, or therapy provider. If support feels urgent, please contact emergency services, a trusted adult, a school counselor, or a licensed professional.