Thank You for Applying…

By Julia Garcia

When I saw that email subject, my heart sank. Everyone knows what it means if an email starts like that. If you were accepted, it would say “Congratulations!”. If you were rejected, it always begins with “Thank you for applying.” Due to a personal family crisis the day before my interview, I didn’t feel prepared at all. I knew that I had a good application, but I was sure that I hadn’t put my best self forward during that Zoom meeting. I kept reading. “It has been a competitive application process…” I had hoped that, during my interview, I was able to justify my lack of preparedness, but I knew that I hadn’t been competitive on that date. “…and I would like to personally apologize…” At that point, I almost closed my laptop. But then, I read the next line. “for the misleading title! Congratulations!” I couldn’t believe it! I stared at my computer for several seconds, trying to process what I had just read. It was a trick! I got in! I had to reread those first few sentences several times for it to sink in, and even then, I didn’t fully believe it until I got a second email from Volunteer Services. I was accepted into Footprints! And now, at the end of my first semester volunteering at Shands, as I reflect on that fateful August morning, all I can think about is how excited I was. I spent hours imagining what my shifts would be like, and they were better than I could have ever expected. Holding babies, teaching kids how to play Uno, making snowmen out of Play-Doh, it’s all been such an incredible and rewarding experience. Thank you for accepting me, and now, Spring 2022, here I come!

Julia is a third-year microbiology major on the pre-med track. She joined Footprints in Fall 2021.