For many first-year Villanovans, one of the hardest parts about coming to this university will prove to be rejection. Most people here were high-achieving, honor roll students in high school, and many of us most likely had a distinct talent that helped us end up here. I have heard of stand-out extracurriculars ranging from playing the cello to being a female boy scout. Although this commitment to being excellent is part of what makes us Villanovans, it can also be a difficult thing to grapple with on a personal level. Although you may have been “the best” at something in high school, so were most people here.
Now, I’m not trying to discourage anyone from trying new things or from continuing with their already-established passions. I’m actually here to say that rejection is one of the best things that has happened to me at Villanova. Funny enough, rejection is how I ended up at Villanova in the first place. I had convinced myself that my dream was to go to the University of Georgia. Looking back, I couldn’t really tell you why that was, aside from the fact that it was highly unlikely that I would see anyone from my high school there. However, people that know me would also know that I know nothing about football, I don’t like being hot, and I get agitated even making the trek to West Campus. Being waitlisted at UGA was, to put it kindly, the universe doing me a favor.
All this is to say, although difficult, rejection is almost always for the best, although it may not feel like it in the moment. But how can we take that heavy feeling and push past it? It’s perfectly okay to just sit in your room and cry over a bag of Dot’s Pretzels. However, you can’t let this stop you from trying out other things.
Say you didn’t make it into the sorority of your choice last year. Many of them are doing continuous open bidding this semester. Didn’t hear back from a work study? Go and ask in person. Didn’t get into a selective club? There are plenty of organizations that don’t have application processes.
This includes groups such as intramural sports, cultural organizations such as LASO and BSU, service clubs like Rays of Sunshine and RUIBAL and even media clubs, including The Villanovan.
“I mean, it was a good opportunity to audition for acapella and get comfortable singing in front of other people, which is something that I was terrified of doing before,” senior psychology major Madison Romano said. “The rejection aspect of it did suck, but it just means that it wasn’t meant for me. And now, I can put time towards other things that I enjoy.”
Romano’s spirit of resilience is something that many other Villanovans will have to embody during their time here. And, she brings up another good point: by going through interview and audition processes here in college that may not always turn out in our favor, we are still practicing skills that will aid us in the working world. If an interview on campus didn’t go well, you can still use that experience to reflect on yourself. What went well, and what can you change? By knowing what our strengths and weaknesses are, it makes us become better candidates for jobs in the future.
So the moral of the story is, keep trying. Rejection one, twice or even three times does not mean that you aren’t meant to be here. In a way, it’s the universe telling you that you are meant for something else. In Romano’s experience, the extra time she was able to devote to musical theatre allowed her to become the president of the club. If I hadn’t had extra time on my hands due to my own rejections, I wouldn’t have been able to join The Villanovan or even become an RA. Our rejections, while difficult, often open the door to some of our greatest acceptances.
