Choosing Drexel

I was sitting on the edge of my bed. I had been bedridden with COVID for the last few days but, during that time, I was anxiously waiting for a notification from Drexel sealing my fate about the college admissions process. I had gotten a text around 6 p.m. that day that decisions had been released and asked if I had gotten in or not. Up to that point, I refreshed the page at least twenty times a day. I got reassurance from my peers saying that my portfolio was strong and that my graphic design skills were good enough for the program, and that my grades were on point and I would definitely get in, but there was always that hint of anxiety that caused me to second guess myself: "What if I didn't do enough?" "Should I have submitted my testing?" "Is my work really good enough?"

It's crazy to think at that moment, I was visiting places that would soon become very meaningful spots in my later years at Drexel.

The laptop balanced precariously on my knees as I anxiously clicked open the email that held the verdict of months of hard work and sleepless nights. This view status button was a single button that held the power to reshape my future: "Congratulations. Welcome to Drexel University!" At that moment, my life changed forever. I remember running downstairs to tell my parents the news. I remember just being blissful, and nothing else mattered at that point. The questions, the anxieties, nothing could stop me from what I was feeling at this moment.

Seeing the campus in person was otherworldly. I had eventually gotten the opportunity to visit the campus again in person after I was admitted. It's crazy to think at that moment, I was visiting places that would soon become very meaningful spots in my later years at Drexel. I remember visiting Westphal and being in awe of the architecture and just how large the college was. In just a few years, I would be in that college almost 24/7 printing assignments and talking with my peers. Ever since then, Westphal has become almost like a home away from home ever since coming to Drexel. Its walls are full of memories and projects from other colleagues I admire.

Drexel itself was huge to me. I had come from a relatively small high school in the countryside of Maryland, so seeing how big the campus was in person felt like another world entirely. I remember looking up at the buildings along the Philadelphia skyline and thinking it was amazing to see such a place. At the time, I wondered how it was even possible to navigate the campus. Everything from the Mario statue to Millennium Hall felt absolutely massive. It's funny considering nowadays, I see Drexel as just a blip in the huge place that is Philadelphia.

I try to hold onto the wonder and awe of the starry-eyed high school senior I was when I first got here. While college in general can be exhausting, I am still overall glad I chose Drexel as my college.