Tuesday February, 12 2015. It is a frigid day in the middle of February when I was at school taking an annoying test. I look out the window and see a blizzard coming down from the sky. At 3:00 PM my mom comes to pick me up.

When we get to my street we see the mailman driving along and handing out mail. I wonder if today will be the day I get my admissions letter. I get home and then get a text from my friend.

Gianni, did you get your letter? I just got mine and guess what... I got in.
     

I run to the snow covered mailbox and dig it out. I then open the box and find nothing, “Mom, Chase just told me he got his letter and there is nothing in our mailbox.”
   

“I don’t know what to tell you Gianni, we could go to the store and see if it is there.”
   

My mom and I rush back into the car and go to the post office. We ask if our mail for the day came in and the lady tells us that it should have already been delivered. My mom asks the woman at the post office if she knows where the mailman would be. She tells us he should be at the border of Berkeley Heights and Summit.
   

“Gianni, let's go we are going to go look for him”, says my mom.
   

I enter the freezing car and get ready to try and spot the mailman. We drive for what seems like hours but realistically is only 45 minutes. We finally spot a mailman and ask if he has our mail for the day. Confused, my mom asks what town he delivers mail to.
   

“New Providence.” says the mailman
   

“We are looking for Berkeley Heights. Do you know where he might be?”
   

The mailman has no idea so I get back in the car and continue to drive. As we finally start to lose faith and start driving home I spot a man putting mail in someone’s box.
   

“Mom. Mom, there he is.”
   

We ask if he has the mail for the Restifo’s and he takes a package out of the back. He tells us the snow was covering the mailbox so he couldn’t see it. As we drive home we agree not to open it.
   

During the next 3 hours the suspense kills me. I can’t do any homework or study for tests because I am so nervous. I keep receiving text after text from my friends saying they got in. Finally, my dad and brother walk in and ask me if I got in or not.
   

“Mom wouldn’t let me open it until everyone was home.” I tell my dad.
   

“That’s a bummer, well let’s open it up now.”
   

My mom takes the package and I think now to this exact moment three years ago with my brother. I remember seeing a golden envelope with the school's’s logo on it. The pure joy of that moment made makes me even more anxious. As my mother starts to open the package she hands it to me so I can be the one to “do the honors”. I open the box but tilt it so only I could be the one who sees what is inside. All the preparation from applications, to interviews, to tests now hits me as I see the end result. I spot a shimmering golden envelope that looks all too familiar. I read the cover:

Congratulations, Gianni Restifo. You have been accepted.
   

I scream in my head and then contain myself. My family looks at me with dog eyes, just waiting for words to come out of my mouth.
   

“I got in.”
   

Those were the three best words I’ve ever said in my life. The next couple of minutes were a blur. All I could thinks about was how lucky I was to be going to on of the best schools in the country. My family screamed and started hugging me. I then am able to finally text my friends. I create a group chat with everyone I know got in. Congrats guys, we all got in.
   

This day was one of the best days of my life. It meant so much to me to be able to follow in my brother’s footsteps and come to this school. My brother is one of the smartest people I have ever met in my life. He will always be smarter than me and I know that. I hate being compared to him because I know I will always seem like the lesser person. Although this is the case, this letter means that I can live up to the high expectations set by my brother. This one letter affected the next 6 years of my life, so to be able to go to a school where I could get the best possible education meant so much to me. I couldn’t imagine myself going anywhere else. My parents always told me: It is this school or bust. This acceptance letter meant that I certainly did not bust.