As I am now less than one month away from leaving Rosary Academy and moving onto the next step in my professional education, I think it’s time I reflect on the MANY schools I’ve dreamed of attending and try to figure out what the heck was going on in my little brain throughout each phase. College generally isn’t something talked about prior to high school, but as I am the youngest in my extended family by at least seven years, college visits and graduations are actually some of my earliest memories.

When I was in elementary school, I didn’t really understand what the point of college was beyond the fact that it meant more school. Since I started my professional career as a relentless overachiever at such a young age, the first colleges on my list were the Ivies.

Naturally, my first pick was Harvard with Princeton coming in a close second. Did I know anything about these schools? Nope. But, I knew that smart people went there so I wanted to go there too. Great logic right? My maternal grandfather  attended Princeton for two years but since he dropped out, he was very against his eight year old granddaughter following in his footsteps. Grandpa actually encouraged me to write a letter to the Stanford University Office of Admissions letting them know they should watch out for my application in 10 years.

I remember sitting at his kitchen table and writing a first draft, but I deeply regret never sending that letter because frankly, it would have been hilarious. However, my introduction into the American post secondary education system really took place when I entered middle school and my older sister started seriously looking at colleges.

When I was in sixth grade, my homeroom/history teacher introduced me to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Now THIS was more my speed. Navy had the same prestige as an Ivy League, killer sports teams, and it came with the promise of arguably one of the coolest job titles of all time.

When my family took a trip to visit Washington D.C. that spring, I convinced my parents to take a detour to Annapolis because we were already doing a bunch of other school visits for Hannah. Thus began my obsession with everything about the life of the Midshipmen. My first trip to “the yard” left me completely infatuated with the idea of myself as an officer in the Navy. Ironically, my incessant begging also led to my sister taking an interest in USNA. While I hate to take credit for Hannah’s life *wink wink* her three years there and prospect of a successful naval career might have something to do with a certain little sister.

Each time I returned to Annapolis over the next five years, I fell more in love with the college. In my eighth grade yearbook bio, I even wrote that after Rosary, I would attend the United States Naval Academy and serve as an officer in the Marine Corps. Bold move 13 year old Elena. Bold move…

Throughout my obsession, I obstinately refused my mother’s suggestions to look at other colleges in case my plans changed or I didn’t get in. I mostly ignored her, but I did apply to summer programs at several colleges for the sake of putting more academic achievements on my resume for the Naval Academy. Much to my surprise, two of these colleges piqued my interest and one ended up being the college I will attend next year.

First on this list is the University of Notre Dame. During the summer of 2020, I attended their virtual Summer Scholars program and studied the law track. I really liked what I saw from my fellow students and began to think of Notre Dame as a second option. The idea of Notre Dame being a backup school is completely ridiculous, but so is a sixth grader thinking she knows where she’ll go to college so here we are.

Next on the list is Hillsdale College. I was more skeptical of Hillsdale, but I really wanted to spend two weeks talking about American history with a bunch of nerds so I packed my bags and flew to Michigan. I really liked this school, but something felt off when I was with the people I met. I felt momentarily happy, but I was also really frustrated with the people outside my immediate friend group. While on the trip, I had multiple crises where I would start crying and ask basically anybody who would listen to help me make up my mind.

Coming back from Hillsdale in early July, my list of colleges was as follows: Navy and Hillsdale tied for first and Notre Dame coming up just short in second. I was stressed, had no idea what I was going to do, and with great reluctance, packed my bags again for another two week academic program at Thomas Aquinas College.

I was never supposed to attend this program. My plan was to attend a leadership conference at Notre Dame, but when they switched the event to virtual, I agreed to attend TAC’s program two days before arriving at the college. Much to my surprise and my mom’s delight, after three days on the campus, I fell completely in love, vowed to attend TAC, and basically forgot about my whole college dilemma.

As I began the regular academic year in August, I excitedly told anyone who would listen about the time I spent at Thomas Aquinas College. When I received my acceptance into Thomas Aquinas College on October 1, I immediately submitted a deposit and closed all my other applications. People who knew me well were astounded that two short weeks were enough to completely change my plans to attend the Naval Academy, let alone that I had traded that obsession for some tiny liberal arts college they had never heard of—but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

From my deluded, elementary notions of higher education to an obsession with a military lifestyle that took up roughly one third of my life, I am content knowing that next year, I will be exactly where God wants me to be.