Relief

I got home from a Saturday morning at work to find just one letter in my postbox. It was a large envelope with UCLA as the return address, and I knew it had to be a decision on grad school. Looking at the back of the envelope, it looked like there were dates and contact numbers listed - not the sort of thing I might see in a denial. Anyway, I opened the envelope as I was walking upstairs, and read the decision before I reached the first landing. I'm in! It ranks pretty highly among exciting things that have happened to me recently, and I immediately called a few friends to share the news. The parents weren't picking up their phones, but called me back later to hear it.

Before this, I wasn't totally sure if I'd even get into any of the schools. Most of my confidence had been chopped out from under me through various conversations I'd had with people who told me how selective each school's application process has become. Even if I don't get into any others, I'll be so happy to pursue this. It's been a year in the making.