Isn't that the coolest picture of my house?
If you look carefully, you can see me waving on my back porch. I took the picture while launching another rocket though, so you might not be able to see me that well. And I blinked, so I turned out with that weird look on my face. %-)
Check this out! This is my school, my home! Or it feels sort like that, anyway. I am not joking, it really is my home. A young girl I know once said:
You know how some people will call a place "My Home Away From Home"? Like they'll have a beach house in Maine or something and call it their "Home Away From Home." Well this place is my home. Its not my home away from home, it is my home. My house is actually my "Home Away From Home." Like I come here, and I say to myself: "Welcome Home"-Vicky (a very smart girl from camp, talking about camp)
In the same way, Mass Academy isn't really my home away from home, its my actual home. That place where I live most of my life and sleep is my home away from home... Well... Sort of...Ok, not really. But the teachers are nice...usually...
And now I get to take courses at WPI
If you're a sophomore asking yourself if you should take the risk, leave that safe bubble you call your sending high school, do a massive research project, learn physics, learn math, learn how to be part of a team, learn how to lead teams, learn how to write, and most importantly learn how to relax, the answer is yes. If you think it'll be hard, you're right. If you think you might not make it, you'll be right. Then again, "We do these things not be cause they are easy, but because they are hard"~JFK. And if it was easy, it wouldn't be Mass Academy. So if you think you can handle it, apply. Do it. It'll be hard. It'll keep you away from sleep. It'll teach you physics. It'll teach you math. It'll teach you teamwork and leadership. It'll teach you writting.
Maybe you'll even make some friends as smart as you. Maybe you'll survive. Maybe you'll realize it was all worth it in the end, and you were glad you took a deep breath and grabbed life by Satan's horns (Dante's Inferno reference). Maybe you'll wish you could have spent Junior and Senior year at your old high school with your friends. Or maybe you'll realize they weren't really your friends to begin with. Or that they're not applying to any colleges you are. "Shift happens" ~Dilbert cartoon. Maybe your perception of the world will change, alter your future and change the fate of the Earth. You never know.
Change, risk, the unknown, personal loss, personal gain: This is life, when do you want to start?
You'll never know if you don't apply.