8 things Arab high school grads go through before university

Every high school senior feels excited and anxious during their last year, but Arab seniors have more reason to be worried than happy. Graduating Arab students don't only deal with the usual stress that any senior goes through, they have the added anxiety of making future decisions while being Arab.

Here are 8 things that every Arab high school senior goes through:

If you're planning on studying anything besides medicine, engineering or (if you have really progressive parents) law, then may God be with you. Convincing Arab parents of your major of choice will be one of the hardest things you'll ever have to do.

You could apply to a university in the United States or Europe, but you secretly hope you don't get in. Why? Because there is no way in hell your parents are going to be cool with you going away to study, even if you get a scholarship. Arab parents want you to stay nearby, and they will guilt you into staying in the country, if not your town.

We all have those family gatherings where your uncle's wife's sister, who you have never met before, begins to analyze your life for you. If you're not majoring in something that makes loads of money, this relative – whose name you probably don't even know – will begin to question your choices and laugh at your decision.

If you're not a genius who got a 90% scholarship, chances are you're probably taking your pick at what bank to rob by the time you're 18. Who do these universities think you are? Everything is so damn expensive, and that's just the tuition! Books are a whole other thing, with each class requiring textbooks that will cost you a small fortune.

You won't. You just won't. Even if you go into the same major in the same university, you and your friends will just lose touch under the pressure of fifty papers due in a week and 84 projects you have to finish in 10 days. You'll probably also lose touch with your family, even if you live together.

You'll wake up every day thinking "today is the day!" and be severely disappointed by the absence of any acceptance letters for two months, give or take. By the third month, you will become so desperate for any kind of letter that you'll even take a rejection from your university of choice if it means that you'll know what's going to happen to you.

By the second semester of your senior year, you realize that these grades will determine whether or not you'll get into a college, and only then, after 15 years of school, do you decide to put actual effort into getting good grades. Good luck!

Every family has their own version of this, but ultimately, you receive gifts and congratulations, while you're left feeling completely anxious and wanting to cry about your future.