Stella had been frowning at the stitching on the handkerchief that she’d been embroidering for the past 10 minutes, wondering why it was messier than usual, when her phone buzzed loudly with the ringtone of her favorite song, “Sparks Fly,” by Taylor Swift.
“Hello?” she said nervously into the telephone.
“Good morning. My name is Lucy Richardson and I work for the New York University’s admissions office. I’m calling to tell you that you’ve been accepted to New York’s University School of Art and Design. Your term will start on the thirteenth of September and an acceptance letter has been sent to your home address. Congratulations!”
“Thank you! I look forward to this new and exciting experience!” said Stella, grinning into her phone. Feeling like this was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to her, she started jumping up and down on the gray couch that had been her place to relax for the last 3 years, during the time when she was navigating the stressful period of taking all advanced, higher level courses and going through the college application process. Perhaps this is the result that comes from putting in the effort throughout the years of high school, she thought to herself.
Eventually calming down from her excitement, she continued working on the handkerchief that she’d been sewing, focusing on a flowery nature design. Sewing and creating different types of art had been something that she’d been passionate about since she was a little girl, fiddling with designs of often colorful clothes and experimenting with inspiration from nature; that expanded her passion into something that she wanted to do when she grew up. Naturally, she was inspired to study at NYU, seeking a new experience and growing her talents. A soft tapping on the door distracted her from the embroidery, as she wondered who it could be.
“Stella? Are you here?” said a soft, melodic voice. “Can you open the door please? I need help with something.” Leaving her hand-sewn handkerchief on the couch, Stella went to open the door, her smile quickly turning into a frown as she saw who it was.
“Come in, Melody,” Stella said. “Is everything alright?”
“Yeah,” said Melody, with some anxiousness that Stella could detect. “Can you provide me with some emotional support while I open some letters from colleges that I’d applied to during the fall?”
Stella stared at her twin sister for a while, shaking her head, and then nodded. “Are the letters in your room?”
“Yes,” said Melody, glancing nervously down the hallway as if she were afraid of someone eavesdropping on this conversation. “Mom can’t know that I applied to some schools that focused on English literature though . . . she specifically said that I wasn’t allowed to apply to any sort of school that had a centralized humanities focus, and that being successful in life was more important than doing something that really interests you.”
“Yeah, that makes sense from a parent’s point of view,” replied Stella. “But I think you can do anything that you want to do in your life, and don’t ever let someone tell you otherwise.” Thinking that it wasn’t a very good idea to announce that she’d been accepted into a school that focused on the arts, Stella kept her mouth closed and hoped that one day before the first term began, she'd eventually have the chance to admit that she had been accepted into an art school. But today, she thought with a faint smile on her face, was a day to celebrate what Melody had accomplished.
Melody suddenly cleared her throat, distracting Stella from her daydreams. “Earth to Stella. Are you okay?”
Disturbed by her sister’s voice, Stella nodded and abruptly realized that they were about to come into Melody’s room, which probably explained why Melody had been so vocal about getting Stella to pay attention to where she was going.
“We’re here,” said Melody. “Careful of where you’re stepping! I haven’t been cleaning my room in about a week so there might be some junk lying down somewhere on the floor.”
“So where are the letters?” asked Stella. Her sister pointed to a stack of paper, and Stella started rifling through them, tossing aside any that she would leave for later. “Is there any letter that you'd like to look at first?”
“Are there any from the University of Michigan or Columbia University?” inquired Melody. Stella nodded, and handed the two letters to Melody. A wide range of emotions throughout the room created a very intense yet hopeful setting for both Stella and Melody, excitement and happiness starting to rise like a sun from the gray clouds.
Beginning to jump up and down with excitement, Melody exclaimed, “I’ve been accepted to Columbia’s School of the Arts!” With both Melody and Stella being accepted to schools that they felt very good about, the future looked very bright indeed.
“Hello?” she said nervously into the telephone.
“Good morning. My name is Lucy Richardson and I work for the New York University’s admissions office. I’m calling to tell you that you’ve been accepted to New York’s University School of Art and Design. Your term will start on the thirteenth of September and an acceptance letter has been sent to your home address. Congratulations!”
“Thank you! I look forward to this new and exciting experience!” said Stella, grinning into her phone. Feeling like this was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to her, she started jumping up and down on the gray couch that had been her place to relax for the last 3 years, during the time when she was navigating the stressful period of taking all advanced, higher level courses and going through the college application process. Perhaps this is the result that comes from putting in the effort throughout the years of high school, she thought to herself.
Eventually calming down from her excitement, she continued working on the handkerchief that she’d been sewing, focusing on a flowery nature design. Sewing and creating different types of art had been something that she’d been passionate about since she was a little girl, fiddling with designs of often colorful clothes and experimenting with inspiration from nature; that expanded her passion into something that she wanted to do when she grew up. Naturally, she was inspired to study at NYU, seeking a new experience and growing her talents. A soft tapping on the door distracted her from the embroidery, as she wondered who it could be.
“Stella? Are you here?” said a soft, melodic voice. “Can you open the door please? I need help with something.” Leaving her hand-sewn handkerchief on the couch, Stella went to open the door, her smile quickly turning into a frown as she saw who it was.
“Come in, Melody,” Stella said. “Is everything alright?”
“Yeah,” said Melody, with some anxiousness that Stella could detect. “Can you provide me with some emotional support while I open some letters from colleges that I’d applied to during the fall?”
Stella stared at her twin sister for a while, shaking her head, and then nodded. “Are the letters in your room?”
“Yes,” said Melody, glancing nervously down the hallway as if she were afraid of someone eavesdropping on this conversation. “Mom can’t know that I applied to some schools that focused on English literature though . . . she specifically said that I wasn’t allowed to apply to any sort of school that had a centralized humanities focus, and that being successful in life was more important than doing something that really interests you.”
“Yeah, that makes sense from a parent’s point of view,” replied Stella. “But I think you can do anything that you want to do in your life, and don’t ever let someone tell you otherwise.” Thinking that it wasn’t a very good idea to announce that she’d been accepted into a school that focused on the arts, Stella kept her mouth closed and hoped that one day before the first term began, she'd eventually have the chance to admit that she had been accepted into an art school. But today, she thought with a faint smile on her face, was a day to celebrate what Melody had accomplished.
Melody suddenly cleared her throat, distracting Stella from her daydreams. “Earth to Stella. Are you okay?”
Disturbed by her sister’s voice, Stella nodded and abruptly realized that they were about to come into Melody’s room, which probably explained why Melody had been so vocal about getting Stella to pay attention to where she was going.
“We’re here,” said Melody. “Careful of where you’re stepping! I haven’t been cleaning my room in about a week so there might be some junk lying down somewhere on the floor.”
“So where are the letters?” asked Stella. Her sister pointed to a stack of paper, and Stella started rifling through them, tossing aside any that she would leave for later. “Is there any letter that you'd like to look at first?”
“Are there any from the University of Michigan or Columbia University?” inquired Melody. Stella nodded, and handed the two letters to Melody. A wide range of emotions throughout the room created a very intense yet hopeful setting for both Stella and Melody, excitement and happiness starting to rise like a sun from the gray clouds.
Beginning to jump up and down with excitement, Melody exclaimed, “I’ve been accepted to Columbia’s School of the Arts!” With both Melody and Stella being accepted to schools that they felt very good about, the future looked very bright indeed.