A Very Strange Update
The comments of support, advice, and sympathy in the days following my dental news made me smile with gratitude at having such friends. Communicating with people, both online and offline showed me the good side of so many folks … it seems that there is nothing you can’t get through if you are blessed with friends and family. Rewind to Friday afternoon and I was barely getting by; every free moment my mind had was spent contemplating my situation, wondering what was next, alternating between disgust with myself for not getting in and a quiet calm looking forward to a year of planning, freedom, and waiting.
Then my Mom at home calls … they’d gotten another letter from the U saying I was an alternate candidate. What? I thought I’d been rejected. We tried to figure out what was going on as fast as possible, and then I ended up dialing the U. Hi … yeah … you said I was rejected and then a coupl’a days later you tell me I’m waitlisted. What’s the deal? The few minutes waiting for someone on the line to go look up my name and tell me what my real status was were the longest of my life. She comes back — I am waitlisted. This is good news, compared to rejection … but now the waiting game resumes. It could be March, April … even as late as July before I know for sure if I am in or out.
So here I am, feeling silly having elicited so many kind people’s sympathy, only to find out it’s not quite as bad as it seemed. That said, everyone’s advice still stands. It’s still a good idea to find a job, consider traveling (strongly recommended by both Sagert and Nils), and continue engaging the “real” world. I also really appreciated the comments of incredulity at my having been rejected. Those made me smile. While I frequently lack confidence in myself, it’s quite heartening to hear that other people have that confidence. And so we press ever forward.