May 1 marks the deadline for high school seniors around the country to secure a spot at the college that they will be attending in the fall. It also marks the end of the long, exhausting college admissions journey.

When I entered my senior year, I found everything about classes to be basically the same except for one major difference: while I carried my backpack home with me every night, I never opened it.

For the last week or so, college admissions decisions have been pouring into my e-mail and mailbox. I won't go into any gory details, but suffice it to say that I neither got rejected from every school nor accepted to every school I applied to. I'm very happy with my acceptances, content but slightly disappointed at my wait-listings, and not overly crushed by my rejections.

Every year seniors complain about the college process. It's stressful, and how are we supposed to decide our futures?

So I've been struggling epically with my college essays.

I thought that I had one, maybe two, all wrapped up and perfected. But then I let my parents read them, and they trashed them. Shortly after, I acquired a book of really good college essays written by students in the past.

It’s nearing April 1, and a strange, anxious anticipation is in the air. Seniors are sprinting at the sound of the mail truck and constantly checking their e-mail. The reason for this erratic behavior?

College admission decisions have arrived.

Almost six months ago, seniors across the nation switched their focus from their studies and social scenes to self-promotion.

The other day I received this e-mail from Central College:

I'm already feeling nervous: College? EEK!

It’s only my sophomore year, and I am not going to shoot for an Ivy League school (just because I’m not that attracted to any of them), but I’m already going through a preliminary phase of passive-yet-nail-biting-ridden anxiety.