How One Teen Rejected Her Rejection Letter

Ah, spring: while the rest of us are out enjoying the sunshine (unless you live in the Northeast, in which case... sorry), high school students around the country are anxiously awaiting letters deciding their fates for the next four years. This year, among the various and sundry public reactions to rejection from universities on social media, one has risen above the masses to become our personal hero: Siobhan O'Dell, whose rejection of her her rejection letter from Duke University is pretty much the best thing ever. In the immortal words of Bruno Mars, don't believe me? Just watch.Like many applicants, Duke University denied O'Dell admission for this coming school year, Hello Giggles reports. Also like many applicants, she took to her Tumblr to share the news, but the similarities stop there. Instead of just posting her letter with an appropriately frowny emoji or three, our hero chose a different course of action... one that would set her on the path to greatness. Well, temporary internet stardom, at least. O'Dell posted her own rejection of Duke's rejection letter, in the same formal style as the one refusing her admission. It's funny without being too snarky, a balance that I honestly doubt I could have achieved at her age.

Talk about letting the mic drop. The post is currently at more than 90,000 likes on Tumblr, which means that somewhere in North Carolina, an Duke admissions officer is probably kicking his or herself. They're currently scrambling to rectify the situation; according to Hello Giggles, the Duke Chronicle already set up an interview with O'Dell this week. No matter how much they may beg her to take them back, though, it looks like their pleas are falling on deaf ears. "Nah I picked USC," O'Dell wrote on her Tumblr. (My favorite part about that is the "nah," by the way. So casual. So callous.)

<img alt="" src="http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ldlwhtQIQq1qczilgo1_500.gif" class="article-body-image" title="Image: http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ldlwhtQIQq1qczilgo1_500.gif"/>It looks like the rejector has become the rejected. How do you like them apples, Duke? No matter which university she chooses to attend, however, one thing is clear: I can't wait to see what O'Dell does the first time someone gives her a B on an essay. Will she send back the paper with a critique of the TA's critiques? Will she write a tasteful counteressay explaining why she deserved an A? We'll just have to wait and see.

Images: Matt Phillips/Flickr, scarrletjohanson/Tumblr, anythingdiz/Livejournal