Manifested It!

It’s why I keep saying that strategy matters. If you’re going to the ballet just to be seen at the ballet, why? If you don’t enjoy it, aren’t involved in a group that promotes it, and are only attending because you think people will see you and automatically think you’re “classy” or “high value”, you’re wasting your time. If you’re not an actively involved member of your city’s young professionals clubs and social groups; looking for ways to meet people and mingle; and focused on building a network and a community, you’re wasting your potential. Nothing gets done by sitting around and hoping to be seen. You have to actively and sometimes aggressively pursue things to see results.

For years, I’d admire how we’d go out and she’d click with everyone. Everyone was “my love”, “hon”, “darling”, “chick”, everyone got the same warm smile and eye contact; everyone was listened to and acknowledged, and she was always polite and always funny. I asked her how she was such a woman of the people one time, how she made everyone like her, and she told me that she’d been a cashier and had learned how to become comfortable with people that way. No self-gratuitous story about boarding school in London or finishing school in Switzerland, just “I was a cashier, and I picked up the habits of the older ladies I worked with”. I hit about 16, got a job at a local shop, and after a few shifts working with Tina, my 50-something year old coworker, I realized my mom’s friend was totally right about needing to actually be around people to be seen as a woman of the people and be able to talk to the public without struggling.

I just got to Dallas, and everyone is so nice and pretty :)

I applied to a handful of different schools, some of which I applied to a few years ago when I was a senior in high school and some of which I was applying to for the first time. I only applied to secular schools and schools in the states; I was told not to apply to religious schools (Yeshiva lol), and I didn’t want to do Europe or pick up and move to England, so I made my list based on what I like, how I live, and what felt the best to me.

Syracuse: in-state safety, and I knew I’d get in because I got in my senior year but ended up in Prague instead. I love Cuse; I think it’s a great school, it was affordable, and I’ve been there to visit many times and even sat in on a few classes and enjoyed them. My backup had I wanted to stay in NY or do some undergrad research.

SMU: I was originally going to go to Dallas; in fact, I was 100% set on it. My sister is in Dallas and loves SMU. What dissuaded me was my full acceptance to the school I committed to and the fact that I didn’t want to step on my sister’s toes or intrude upon her life. The environment is perf and everything feels good there; I just didn’t want to be so close to my sister, and I knew my dad would be like, “I can save on rent if you and Ava move in together!” and that annoyed me lol.

Tulane: Tulane is known as a really big party school, and it’s also extremely Jewish. I know a lot of people who went there and loved it, and I also thought about studying French and doing art history for a long time, and Tulane is kind of the place to be for both of those things. My very good friend Lisa is going this fall, and we applied together, and I wasn’t shocked when we got in. I’d visited a lot, been for Mardi Gras, and loved it there, but it felt like an alcoholic’s paradise, and I knew I’d get burnt out and tired of partying really quickly.

Columbia: I was waitlisted and then accepted, but I knew I was never going to go. I don’t do well in New York City, and I’ve known that I was never meant to live here almost since we moved. I originally applied to the Ivy in NYC because most of my high school class did, and I got in way back then, and I applied a second time just to see if I’d be accepted. I really don’t fuck with Columbia, and so it wasn’t really a reality for me to go; I don’t think the environment would’ve been right, it was never my dream, and it would’ve meant staying in NYC.

Wisconsin: I don’t know why I applied to Wisconsin, but there was no way in hell I would ever be moving to Madison. I got in, and I got merit aid, but I never really considered it. If I’d lived in the Midwest and been declined from Michigan, Wisconsin would’ve been a really good alternative, but because I was looking at the school as someone from a huge city, I kind of thought of it like Indiana. It was an easy application, but I was also never going to go and didn’t like the vibe.

Georgetown: I knew I’d be getting in from my first interview, BUT I applied as a first-year, they declined me, and then admitted me as a transfer student all in the same cycle. Confusing, but it was for the best, and I fell in love with GU’s aura. It was also a really good city; Washington, DC is so much smaller than New York, and I do love it here, and I toured, met people, and fell in love. I didn’t apply to Georgetown during high school; I applied to George Washington, and they’re separate but different, and I kind of like that Georgetown was a religious school at one point.

Michigan: I was declined by Michigan, but again, I knew I probably would be. Michigan is one of the hardest public schools to get into and very popular with applicants, but I thought I’d give it a try. Had I applied in-state, I know I would’ve been a shoo-in, but alas, I’m a New York resident, and I didn’t see the point in moving to AA early or trying to start a life there.

Princeton: I knew I absolutely wasn’t going to get in, but I applied just to see if legacy status meant anything and because Princeton is kind of known for taking non-traditional students (I didn’t know that meant mostly veterans). The application process was much easier than I expected, but I also came to realize that it was so easy because I was going to be declined.

Arizona: I knew I’d get in, so I applied. Arizona has a (relatively niche) major I was interested in at the time; their Hillel is very established and it came highly recommended, and they offered me a metric fuckton of scholarship money. The thing that turned me off about Arizona was the weather; I landed in Phoenix, and it was 116° on the tarmac, and when my friend came to pick me up from Sky Harbor Airport, my lips were starting to crack because the air was so dry.

Miami: I knew I would get in, and my older sister went here, had the time of her life, and still lives in Florida, but she lives in Ponte Vedra Beach now, so I thought I’d apply to be closer to her. I love UMiami; I got in with a huge amount of merit. I thought I’d go and spend my life there, but then I visited again as a potential student and changed my mind. My sister went during a time when social media was much more relaxed and fun, and the times have drastically changed. I landed, toured, didn’t like the vibe, and decided I’d do better to find something more my speed and move on from UM.

Penn: I applied to Penn and knew I’d be getting in because I have a sibling there now and my dad pays full tuition and donates. It wasn’t a safety school in the sense that my application would be carrying me; it was a safety school because I wasn’t applying to Wharton, and I believe that they really do consider siblings of students who require no institutional aid. Anyway, applied to Penn, got in, and decided against it since I love Philly but don’t love the culture or the intensity of the school and didn’t really want to be at an Ivy uni.

I’m incredibly busy.

I’ve been between Emerson and William these past few days, getting ready for Friday night, going out, getting my apartment ready, enjoying the atmosphere, and doing Milena Maintenance with all the things I have to do here so I’m not hurrying and stressed out later on in the month. I’ve also been doing admin work to get ready for school, doing the paperwork necessary to get myself established at my new shul, and doing my last work project before I’m funemployed and in university.

I’m hosting a “Missoni & Mocktails” housewarming party for the shul crowd as soon as we’re settled in, so I’ve been ordering the decorations for that and deciding what the invitations are going to look like. I’m thinking 23rd July because it’ll be nice and it gives everyone a few weeks to get ready. We’ll be living right in my Zeyde’s old apartment that he’s been kind enough to offer to us, and it’s in a great area of town, one I really love, so I’m happy that Miss Full Pay got off the waitlist yesterday so we’ll spend the next few years together. I absolutely love this city, I’m a lot more relaxed than I ever was when I was living in New York City, and I love how fun and full of life everything feels.

I’m also trying to work on a post for someone who asked me how I applied to schools as a non-traditional student, how I chose the schools I was applying to, how I wrote letters after I’d been waitlisted/declined, how I scheduled my interviews, and how I negotiated my financial aid. I’ve tried to before, but I’ve never really known what to write or how to list the resources I used out in a cohesive way. It’s not a hard process; you can honestly do it for free or for very little (if you want), but it’s more the attention to detail and making sure you stay on track. I also found that schools would reach out to me and ask if I was on track. I set up a notifications system, and nothing was hard once I got into a routine and knew what I had to do with myself. I’ll try to get it posted soon; definitely before the apps open up and the class of 2031 start applying to unis.