Art

"The Art of  Gum-Ball Machines, and Other Simple Pleasures" from The Accidental 
Masterpiece, asks the question, Are gum balls a metaphor for,life? I think yes. 
( The chapter actually talks artists like Wayne Thiebaud, but that's an aside) 
There is a container, holding colorful balls of gum, each a different flavor.  
Conflicts arise as you hope for one color but desire a different flavor.  You 
put in your money, will it not to get stuck, and swoosh, a ball drops out of the 
large mound into the opening for you to grab and pop into your mouth.  College? 
Yes, it is. Gum ball  machines are like college in that you put in your coin and 
hope that the gum ball  that comes out of the machine will be an offer  of 
admission. 

I am quite sure that the author of The Accidental Masterpiece did not intent his 
book to be about  a High School Senior's quest for college, but, like art, there 
is always room for interpretation.

 Ah, to be an egocentric high school student...............