App-ocalypse

Recently, we took our calendars and turned the last page to December, which to many symbolizes the holiday season, festivities and general cheer.

But as I turned my Healthy Cat calendar away from November and into December, I was predominantly reminded of the fact that my days to submit college apps are dwindling fast. 

For me, as it does with many kids, the collegiate application is associated with heavy eyelids and infinitesimally small attention spans. I am currently sitting at a halfway point of sorts, 5 apps down, 5 apps to go, but I am not looking forward to these next five at all. 

Not because it means more essays to write. Not because the Common App is a technological monstrosity.

Because the recommendation process is a nightmare. Let me tell you why.

Here I am on November 30, finalizing my Stanford Application before I click the "Submit" button which has been staring me in the face for the past 2 weeks. The regular app is due on New Year's Day, but if you wish to include an arts supplement, (like myself,) you need to be done a month early. 

After countless hours of Thanksgiving break spent slaving away trying to get essays to fit the word-count, I am finally ready to submit. But there's one problem. Not all of my recommenders have submitted their teacher evaluations.

I have spent the entire break constantly checking into the Common App webpage, just observing my teachers' progress and hoping that I won't have to remind them directly. As the days creep closer to the 30th, I witness the number of teachers left dwindle to 2, and then to 1. 

But as my mouse hovers over the submit button, there is still a big, cardinal red "1" preventing me from taking further action. And now I am left with a dilemma.

How do you press a charitable act? One one hand, I am dealing with a teacher who deserves the utmost respect and patience. Besides, the evaluation is entirely charitable, done out of the goodness of one's heart! On the other, my potential future is hanging in the balance, and the water cannot be left murky any longer. I have sent reminders throughout the entire week. I have been met with only positive responses. But I still lack a green check on all portions of the application.

I spend the next couple hours in a deadlock, completely unsure of how to proceed. All it would take is a simple call to ensure that everything is all right, but how do you make this call (to somebody who you need to think WELL of you) and not seem annoying? I'm pretty sure that if my mom hadn't been present, I never would have picked up the phone. But fate ran another course as my fingers proceeded through the dial tones.

Ring Ring. Ring Ring. 

"Hello?" 

"Hi, is this Mr. _______?"

"Yes, I'm working on it as we speak."

"Thanks. Bye."

Click.

Definitely the most awkward conversation in my life.

In hindsight, it's easy to wish I hadn't bothered, and just trusted the trustworthy. But to be passive is to be overlooked. I'm glad I called, as gut-wrenching as the conversation may have been. My application would have looked the same, either way. But my actions have served as a beacon of light, into the cauldron of darkness that is the college app.