Chapter 11: I Could Only Imagine

I was going away for college, far away. I was going to dorm and love it. I was all set, with my college t-shirt and keychains for my parents, because I WAS GOING AWAY FOR SCHOOL. At least that was what I thought. Making plans for where you will go to college and what you can actually afford are two very different things. I quickly came to realize this when there wasn’t any money for me actually to go to school out of town.

Once it became clear that I was going to be commuting to the college fifteen minutes away from the house I had grown up in, I decided to make a long shot phone call and see whether the honors program for aspiring mathematics teachers, TIME 2000, had any space left. After all, it was June. The application process was over, and the orientation for incoming freshman had already taken place; but I thought, I might as well give it a try. When I called, a kind lady with a sweet voice (i.e., the secretary) answered the phone, and her response was “we will always make room for a good student.” She had no idea how those words would change my life—and I could only imagine. When I hung up the phone, I quickly gathered the documents for my application packet and hand delivered them to the office so that it wouldn’t waste any time. And then, I waited.