Letter from the Editor

Dear Reader,

I wasn’t originally planning on writing about college applications for my last Letter from the Editor of the year (and of the decade), but those are what I’ve been working on since finals week ended — so I have many cheesy thoughts on the matter.

It’s difficult to imagine what senior year and college applications feel like until it is actually your turn. When this school year started, I thought I was emotionally prepared for what lay ahead of me because I had witnessed my sister’s college application process just two years ago. Our processes have been very different, and that is something that I’ve come to appreciate. As frustrating as it is to have no clear-cut path to the college of your dreams, it is somewhat freeing to know that there really is no single approach to this increasingly uncertain process that is guaranteed to ‘succeed.’ I hope every underclassman takes this to heart: there’s no need to tailor your high school experience to your expected college application, or your ‘dream’ college (which will almost certainly change as you learn more about yourself and about the many fantastic options that are waiting for you!). Your high school years are wonderful and precious, and if you use them to discover whatever it is that inspires you to be the best version of yourself, I believe that your applications will shine with your enthusiastic and authentic voices.

I’m incredibly thankful that my family and friends encouraged me to spend my time in high school developing confidence in my sense of self, rather than preparing me to package myself in a certain way for a group of adults who will judge my file based on its alignment with their vision for a diverse class that supports their institutional goals. I’m comforted by the fact that each decision I receive will reflect my ‘fit’ with that school’s cohort, not some curated-version-of-me’s ‘fit.’ To seniors who have received disappointing early decisions, or are anxiously awaiting regular decisions, I hope that this sentiment brings you some comfort too. I have faith that we’ll all find our way to where we are meant to be: you are the most amazing, inspiring people I know, and it’s truly an honor to get to know you before the rest of the universe does. I hope I’m not spoiling anyone’s Christmas wishes when I say that I hope that you all get good news in March and April.

Ultimately, as crummy as applying to college has felt at times, people are telling the truth when they say it can be an important experience for figuring out who you are. I thought that I was already introspective, but in the process of researching and finalizing my college list, juggling my ever-growing collection of interests, and struggling to articulate my life story in a measly 100-650 words, I’ve come to a clearer sense of what kind of person I’d like to become. I’m sure that if you’re currently a junior, you will think of this article in October or November next fall and think I am bonkers, or a workaholic, or misjudging the randomness and unfairness of the system. Trust me when I say that I am still coming to terms with that last point. But after the stress you’ll inevitably experience, I believe that you’ll come out of the college process with more clarity — not necessarily about your major or your career, but at least about the values and principles you’ll strive to uphold in the process of figuring the rest of life out, and the things you appreciate most about yourself.

I’ll conclude this Letter by celebrating our Contributor of the Semester, Rachel Hu (‘22), who also happens to be our current College editor (she will transition into the Clubs editor role next semester)! Beyond her lovely prose, which rarely requires correction, Rachel has simply been a pleasure to work with this semester. Dedicated, thoughtful, and reliable, she has made herself an indispensable member of the Pixel Journal staff. Rachel is filled with ideas that will undoubtedly make the Journal a better publication, while also being eager and open to listen to others’ ideas and feedback. I’m delighted to name Rachel our Contributor of the Semester, and I can’t wait to see what she (and our other wonderful contributors) will write in the new year.

I wish all of you a blissfully happy new year — let’s make sure that 2020 sets the right tone for the rest of the decade!

Cheers,

Hannah Yang

Editor-in-Chief