By Asha King, age 17
I’m a senior in high school, and the application process for college is long and nerve-wracking. At first, senior year felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders because it was my very last year of high school. I soon figured out that wasn’t the case. Deadlines, SAT’s, essays and so much more started appearing rapidly in my life. Just the thought of college stressed me out, and in all honesty, I felt like giving up and maybe putting college off for a year.
One day, my aunt decided that she wanted to go to the salon and get her hair done. That was not how I wanted to spend my Saturday. After some time had passed, however, my aunt was ready to go and I decided to accompany her. Upon arriving to the salon, after a lengthy commute, there was a long wait and barely a place to sit down. There was one open seat next to a lady in a bright green shirt that didn’t look very welcoming, but I’ve learned that you should never judge a book by its cover.
Before I even sat down, the lady had already started a conversation with me. Not too long after, the topic of school arose. The school that had sparked my interest for a while was Virginia Tech. When I told Mrs. Winbush that I wanted to go to Virginia Tech her smile stretched from ear to ear. She shouted, “I’m a Virginia tech Alum!” By the end of both our visits, we had exchanged emails; Mrs. Winbush gave me a whole list of scholarships to apply to and she fully encouraged me to begin looking at not only Virginia Tech, but other colleges as well.
I know it wasn’t by chance that I ran into this lady. God brought someone into my life to encourage me and to show me that I was being narrow-minded which definitely hindered me from going a step further in my college application process. I’ve been praying about college for a while – and what used to be a nerve wrecking process is now somewhat exciting to me. Every time I reach a stumbling block with my applications, God puts someone or something in my life to help me, encourage me and push me because I am definitely going to college.