MARCH soon turned into April and then April into May and before I knew it, it was finals week. I had spent the last few weeks studying rigorously and checking my mail twice a day for any letter from Colombia.

This past month, to say the least, has been very stressful. I took a sip of my coffee as I walked to my locker, trying to blink the sleep out of my eyes. Today was the last day of finals and I wanted nothing more than for it to be over already.

I squint at the flyer taped onto my locker with PROM in a bulky font. With everything going...