I have spent the majority of my senior year being asked where am I going to college.

  When I say I will be attending Dominican University, I get similar responses like “where is that?” or “is that a private school?”

  Quite frankly, few people have heard of Dominican – where I plan on spending my next four years.

  But that’s perfectly fine with me; I chose to attend Dominican University (which, by the way, is in northern California) for the opportunities it gave me academically, and because it also gave me the ability to keep playing the sport I love.

  I did not choose it because of its name or prestige.

  Thus, as I watch my fellow classmates hear back from the schools they applied to, I want them to know that it’s not about the school where you are headed. It’s really about the work you put in there.

  It’s also all about the experiences you make out of the opportunities you have.   

  In fact, a teacher on this campus articulated an apt analogy when it comes to college decisions.

  He asked me “What happens when there is a rock in the middle of a stream?” The answer? “The water ultimately ends up going around it.”

  I think this is a perfect reflection of the college admissions process, because this rock in the middle of the stream erodes, turning into pebbles. They endure the water, the wind, everything that comes their  way, and yet you still overcome and sit, sift through it all, going on through life and feeling the cool water go by.

  If you get declined from one of your top schools, choose another university to attend, but give it your all while you are there.   

  I think this sentiment is best exemplified by Steven Spielberg, one of the greatest directors of all time.

  Growing up, Spielberg’s dream was to go to the University of Southern California, but when he applied he was denied.

  However, instead of letting it get to him, Spielberg ended up attending Long Beach State and ultimately received an unpaid internship at Universal Studios.

  Spielberg then made the most of his opportunities, impressing the vice president of Universal Studios and, after a while, directing some of the highest-grossing movies of all time. He even reached the pinnacle of the entertainment industry, winning the the Academy Award for Best Director. Twice.

  It is not about the name of the school, or if it was your first or last choice – the school does not define you.

  Instead, it is what you decide to take from that school helps determine who and what you’ll be.