Time to Board the Scholar Ship

     Well, it's come to that time of our lives. It's time to get ready for college; it's time to write all the essays, to submit our applications, to take a million tests that abuse acronyms (SAT, ACT, HSPE, ASVAB, WAT, MIT, CIA, FBI, LOL), and to try and get those pesky scholarships.
     Scholarships. Boy aren't these fun. Our economy is built in such a way that either one, you have enough money to fund yourself through college, or two, you get a couple of scholarships, you get a job, and you work your butt off to struggle through four years. Usually at the end you are piled in student debt too, and from what I have heard, that's a joy. In my English class, we've had to start writing essays, a sorta nudge in the write direction by my teacher to hopefully give us a chance. It's time to board the Scholar Ship, and trust me, you're not gonna get those tickets by winning poker with a Full House in some shabby bar at the port. (Full House, Boys!)
     Most of us will get the Millennium's Scholarship, and hey, that'd help. But past that, we're out on our own. We're out on the College Safari with our Jeep broken down, hunting for food in the middle of the night. Sometimes you'll nail a gazelle or two, and that will feed you for a short time. Most of the time, the tigers and lions (and bears, oh my) will kill you with debt.
     Okay. A little too much hyperbole for you? I agree. I was over exaggerating. But that's sorta how I feel right now. My future is a train coming across the tracks at full speed; it's a game of chicken, and on one side is high school and the other is college. Gotta be fast. Gotta be ready. Can't be pommeled by that overwhelming responsibility and crumble under the pressure.
     So as you can tell, I am more than a bit worried. I found a couple of scholarships here and there, and I took my shot. Who knows when I will find out if I get them though, sometimes you just need to close your eyes and pull the trigger. Sitting to my right, there is a list of about 60 or so scholarships I need to complete (shout out to my mum for getting that together), but trust me, the list does not look to appealing.
     Good luck to everyone this year; I bet we're all gonna be fighting the same battles in our own way this year, and we could all use a little help from each other. It isn't worth getting mad over some of the little things someone says, they've got bigger battles to fight and can't be trying to participate in all the smaller ones. Good luck getting those scholarships, good luck writing those essays, good luck finding the college you want to get into, good luck with all the tests and grades and leadership and life and whatever else gets in the way. I'm with you all every step of the way. Hobey ho.

(Word Count: 521 words)