Accomplishment: Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School

Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family. (650 words)

From the minute I saw it, I knew that it was where I belonged, and I would do whatever necessary to make sure that I found myself there when it was time. It was so beautiful, so heavenly, so desirable. I knew that it would be the perfect place for me. I felt as though I would finally be able to “fit in.” I had never even met anyone from this place, but I could tell by the brochure – the one with all the photos of dance performances, musicals, and Cirque du Soleil acts – that I would be happy there, at the college-preparatory boarding and day school called Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School. I told my mom
and grandparents, at the ripe, young age of six, that I was going to go there as soon as I could. They responded mainly with encouragement, but also with a side of reality; it was expensive and competitive.
I would have to make very good grades and keep a clean disciplinary record. I had not previously had a problem with doing either of those things, but learning that I suddenly had no room for error was stressful at that age. I would also have to fill out an application for admission, merit scholarships, and financial aid as well as pass the Independent Schools Entrance Exam. Many children my age would have given up after hearing about all of those demanding and time-consuming requirements, but I stood firm. My mom thought that this dream was just a phase, but soon after the beginning of fifth grade, I was ready to apply. When I first discovered the school, all students had to be in sixth grade or higher to attend. In my fifth grade year I found that day students could attend in sixth grade, but boarding students could not enroll until seventh. I was heartbroken, but then my grandfather told me that an extra year could be a good thing. I had the time to make sure my application was seamless, and he could help me study for the entrance exam because he was an engineer, and math was my worst
subject. The day I started filling out the online application by myself for Rabun Gap was the day that my family started to treat me less like a kid. This treatment only grew after I sent in the application, took the entrance exam, shadowed a student for a day, and went to a one-on-one interview with an admissions counselor. My family never doubted my ability to achieve my goal, but they never thought that I would try so hard. They thought that I just had a child’s infatuation with a new place and the “big kids,” but once I started doing the things necessary to be accepted, they realized that I was serious about my dream, and determined to make it a reality. When I got the voicemail that told me I had been accepted, my mother and I cried for almost an hour, but I knew we were crying for different reasons. I was happy to be leaving to go live my dream after so many years of imaging what it would be like to be a boarding student at Rabun Gap. My mother knew that this change was good for me – it would challenge me in new ways, and I would finally find loyal friends with similar interests – but she was also sad that I was growing up, and almost completely moving out much sooner than she had ever expected. After I was accepted, everything changed. My family treated me like a peer instead of a child; they knew that I had determination that many adults did not. I was given new responsibilities and even talked to in a different manner. My family had a new, mature respect for me, all because I chased my dream and made it come true.