Where I'm Going from Here...

Wow, it's been a crazy long time since my last post!  Time is just flying by for me lately.  I barely get adequate sleep but I feel like I have no time at all.  Anyway, this post is a (long) update on where I'm going from here. :)

A few months ago (that long ago - can you believe it?!) when I was still applying to different schools, I was looking into going to BYU Idaho.  I soon found out that they don't accept diplomas from charter schools as "valid" unless that school meets their requirements.  I am currently attending an online charter school, funded by the state of New Hampshire.  It started only 3 years ago, so my charter school isn't old enough to meet the BYU criteria.  Needless to say, I was very upset.  I ranted to myself, "What can be more legit than a school run by the government?!?!"

However, BYU does accept GED certificates.  My mom and I looked into it and decided that I should still get my diploma from my charter school, but also get my GED in case other schools wouldn't take my diploma.

Those that know me know that I am terrible at making choices.  I agonize over every option for as long as possible, stress about it every waking moment, and get advice from everybody and their dog about what I should do.  I just knew that with a decision as huge as what college to go to, I couldn't do it myself.  When you pick a college, you are deciding to live in that community for the next 3-5 years.  In the case of music majors, you usually end up playing similarly to your teachers. (My teacher Aubrie and her teacher Peggy sound almost exactly the same, and when they play duets it sounds like one big flute sound.  Kinda cool, but it makes you think carefully about who you want to sound like.)  So I decided that I wasn't going to choose my college.

I prayed and fasted a lot, begging Heavenly Father to make it REALLY OBVIOUS which school I should go to, so I would know without a doubt, that I was truly going where I was meant to be.  There was a really hard period when a lot of things went wrong and I wasn't getting a definitive "yes" or "no" from any of the schools I applied to.  People would keep asking me about where I was going and when I was leaving.  It was really awkward to have to say over and over, "I don't know where I'm going, but I'm sure I'll find out soon."  As the months wore on, I felt more uncomfortable talking about my college plans.  

Then, things started going really wrong!  I ordered copies of my SAT and ACT scores to be sent to some of my potential colleges.  It took over a month for the scores to arrive.  I shipped my paper portfolio to BYU and it took a while for them to get it.  SVU made a clerical error and I somehow had two files with them, one was empty, the other had all my application and scholarship information -- of course the completed file got lost and then I was getting calls asking when I was planning to send in my application.... thankfully that got straightened out pretty quickly!

I started getting really nervous that I would have to make the decision on my own.  I kept praying but I was also freaking out about deciding myself because I hadn't really done much research on any of the schools!  Then doors started being closed but none others were opening.  UNH accepted me but denied me of any scholarships due to "lack of funds for the music department this year."  PSU accepted me, but gave me a really tiny housing scholarship so the yearly tuition would have been over $20,000.  Everything I sent to Barry U. either got lost in the mail or took forever to get there, so eventually my mom and I decided to stop pursuing that school.  

The night before I planned to go to apply for the GED test, I had Spanish class at a community college.  I forgot to put my cell phone on silent, and just as I went into class, my phone rang!  Embarrassed, I quickly forwarded the call to voicemail and silenced my phone.  As soon as class was over, I saw the call was from Peggy Vagts, the flute teacher at UNH.  I raced to the bathroom to hear the message.  Peggy was my master class teacher at SYMS, and even though I hadn't gotten a scholarship from UNH, I was still eager to hear what she had to say.  She said,
"Hi Shelby, I want to congratulate you on your acceptance to UNH.  I hope you decide to come study here and I hope you are doing well.  You don't have to call me back, but I wanted to personally congratulate you."
I was really touched by this sweet call and even wrote a card to thank her for it.  

I also had another message, which surprised me because Peggy's number was the only one that had shown up on my "missed calls" list.  It was from my admissions councilor at SVU:
"Hi Shelby, this is Cimone.  I just wanted to let you know I have GREAT NEWS!  Bye!"  I felt like it must be a glitch, that the message had been left days before and only just now got through, because we had heard a few weeks before that I'd qualified for a $2,000 talent grant.  I told my mom about the message and we agreed it must have been a phone glitch.  When we got home, there was another message on our answering machine:
"Hi Moore family, it's Cimone.  I have GREAT NEWS for you guys!  Bye!"
I felt like screaming.  How can you leave a message like that and expect the person to sleep?  

Of course, I didn't sleep and the next morning I was super jittery.  As we were driving to the GED office to sign up for the test, my phone rang and it was Cimone!  My mom pulled over and Cimone told me that I had been accepted to SVU and awarded a housing grant and an academic scholarship.  Combined with my talent grant, I had a total of $11,000 in scholarship money!!  And I will qualify for more scholarships during my junior and senior year!  With the scholarships, it was now cheaper to go to SVU than BYU.  Of course I accepted the scholarships right there and told Cimone over and over that she was my favorite person in the world (even though she'd made me suffer all night).  

We still went ahead and signed up for the GED test, but then BYU told me I wouldn't receive any scholarships and there would be even more hoops to jump through before they would accept me.  I was so happy and grateful that my prayers were finally answered.  None of the other schools really seemed all that interested in me.  At SVU, they were really excited by the fact that I play harp, they offered me an office in the Music building for me to keep it in, and anytime we call with a question, they know all about me and can practically recite my entire file when you just mention my name.  

I am sure that SVU is where I'm supposed to be, and I'm SO EXCITED to start my new adventures there!!! ^_^