C.Crew December 2013 | Page 30

The Fashion Institute Of Technology Many people hear this name and they think of one thing, fashion. Given that it is in the title of the school name, one would obviously think of fashion first, but only the insiders know of all of the wonderful things FIT has to offer besides fashion. The day I received my acceptance letter to FIT was the day my life changed, and I say that with only a little exaggeration. I had worked so hard throughout high school. Always staying on top of my grades, going to numerous SAT and ACT tutors (thanks again mom and dad) and of course trying to be the typical “well rounded student” that every college wanted. When it came down to actually applying to colleges I really had no idea of what I was doing. It knew I wanted to be in the fashion industry but I always felt like I was being judged because fashion to some people isn’t seen as a sustainable career path, but for me it was. I guess during the application phase it shouldn’t have been much of a question as to where I should apply but for me it was a challenge. My friends said, “oh it’s so easy for you just apply to FIT and you’ll be fine” but it really wasn’t that easy. I wasn’t sure if the urban college setting is what I really wanted. College is a time in your life that you will never give back and you are supposed to make the best out of the time you are given at college. So I felt it was necessary to live that “college dream” at a real college with a real campus. So I applied to 10 different schools with my heart only set on one. I remember tossing and turning at night thinking of all of the possibilities of where I might end up. I received some letter backs slowly but surely, some good and some not so good but I still didn’t hear back from that one school I had really been waiting to hear back from. It wasn’t until late March that I ran down my driveway, tore open my mailbox and pulled out the prettiest oversized white envelope my eyes had ever seen stamped by FIT. That was the day my life had changed, the day I knew what I was meant to do in life.     30