Go to college or join the workforce; those are the two options given to newly graduated students. However, I was only given the choice of joining the workforce. I had never conceived the idea of going off to college until the time to take the SAT had arrived. My parents had never reinforced the idea of going to college into my head, now whether that be because they didn’t believe in me or couldn’t afford college, I will never know. College applications were foreign to me because my parents had never applied, neither had my other five siblings. Seeing my first acceptance letter, as well as the plethora of others I obtained, made me feel like I did have a purpose to fulfill, which was to follow my passion for music. Unfortunately, I had to take a gap year after
I had been accepted once again into Berklee: College of Music and Juilliard, but I was still unable to afford the funds to enroll. The burden had caused me to be in conflict on whether I should accept my admittance to UCLA or UC Berkeley, due to the high amounts of scholarships and financial aid I would receive. Consequently, the admissions directors of Juilliard and Berklee: College of Music had given me advice to enroll at Berkeley, because they had told me, “The atmosphere is more diverse, and you will be exposed to more opportunities, rather than being stuck in LA struggling to make your name known.” I also had been promised a “full-ride” scholarship to either Berklee: College of Music and Juilliard, when I transfer as a junior and am able to maintain a 3.5 GPA. I had been accepted into UCLA, but waitlisted for Berkeley, so once I had been taken off the waitlist, I accepted my admittance from the influential talk I had received. I had my doubts when I first came to Berkeley, but after the many opportunities and internships I’ve acquired, I can feel that I made the right