ACCEPTANCE

ac·cept·ance

noun

favorable reception; approval; favor.

Boy, am I glad I started this blog when I did. I sit here writing with a letter of acceptance to Dalhousie University. I am totally blown away that I was offered admission. It's been a long hard road, with many ups and downs, and I cannot believe it has all paid off. 

Picture this: A busy day at work. I have a second to check my phone sitting in the back, to find a BBM from my Dad: "You have a letter from Dal." 

Automatically I could feel my blood pressure rise, my heart beating faster, and my stomach rise to my throat. Today was the day. I called my Mother who promised she would get in her car and drive the letter to me as soon as it arrived in their mailbox. It was only 2:30 at this point, and she was not able to leave work until 4:30, plus the hour drive to Wolfville. Attempting to keep my mind off what was about to happen I tried to go about my day, but I really could not think about anything but the fork in the road that I was facing. 

Finally, after going to town with my good friend Julie to keep my mind from going completely off the rocker, we arrive at my house and wait for my letter's arrival. An hour goes by. Julie, my room mate Jhenna, and her kitty Mango sit with me patiently as I wipe my sweaty palms over and over. Julie looks out the window, "There she is!" she says, and that is when things really kicked in. Thanks autonomic nervous system!

She hands me the letter. There it is, in the top left it reads Dalhousie University, Faculty of Health Professions, School of Health Administration. Here we go. 

Im not sure I can remember joy-crying so hard. I do not remember reading the actual words, just feeling my face bunch up and burst into huge tears. 

"Dear Melissa:

I am pleased to inform you that the Faculty of Graduate Studies has approved our recommendation of your acceptance to the Master of Health Administration (MHA) program as a full time student." 

And that was that. My plan was set. If I ever come back to this to read about this moment again, I hope I remember how lucky I am to be given this opportunity. This was a long shot, but I DID IT.  

Now, to find room mates, a place to live, and learn all about student loans. I'm a Masters Student. 

 

ac·cept·ance

noun

Being given the chance.

Every end is a new beginning.

limbo

noun

in limbo in a state of uncertainty, neglected, up in the air, in abeyance, betwixt and between, not knowing whether one is coming or going (informal) I felt as though I was in limbo. [...]

 

I am in limbo. As I start this blog, it is fun to think about how many things may change with each post. I have reached that point in life where there is not just a fork in the road but an intersection with six choices of direction. To those from Haligonia, think the intersection at the corner of Quinpool and Robie. After spending 17 years of my life as a student, I've hit this intersection, and there is a red light. In the next four months, life could go one of two ways:

 

Option 1: I get accepted to a master's program.

For those of you wondering, yes, there are programs out there that do not hand out acceptance letters until now. You are right, it is May. Yes, they start in September. No, I do not like it. Alas, this is the program that I picked. Masters in health administration. How neat would it be to have BSc, MHA after my name? I am getting ahead of myself. I chose this program because I always wanted to be in the health care field, but noticed early on the glitches in the system. Eventually, I found that I fall naturally into a leadership role. Mash those together and bam, you get MHA. I may not be the most competitive candidate, but it is not from lack of trying. If I get accepted I'll joy-cry. I'll also complete the following steps:

 

Apply to give my soul to student loans --> find a roommate/apartment in Halifax-->move away from wolfvegas (by August)--> start school  --> find work placement --> finish school --> administrate health care --> fist pump

Option 2: I get rejected from a master's program.

I am banking on this one, just in case. The question is, what to do after? A lot of me wants to get out of Nova Scotia and do something spontaneous. Is this because my boyfriend is a world traveler? Possibly. Is this because one of my best friends has been all over the world as well? Possibly. Alright. Probably. What is wrong with that though? Regardless, I got a job interview to do this world traveling last week. Working on a cruise ship would be a great way to see the world on somebody else's dime. The day of the interview I was on day two of antibiotics to treat strep throat. Serendipity? I've seen the movie. Was this my fiver with a phone number? Who knows, but I did not go. To be continued, should this option follow through. It would look something like this:

Apply to jobs somewhere on earth -->rock interview-->go to work said job somewhere on earth. 

For the time being, I'm stuck in limbo. 

limbo

noun

 [...] Living in the same town where you went to university in order to avoid real life, waiting to find out what real life will be. Not all bad, because it involves a sweet job and some good times, subletting in a full house with a cat, and drinking wine until I figure out a plan. 

 

I do not intend to make this a crazy witty trendy blog. I want to be able to look back and laugh at myself because of how things turned out in the end. For those of you reading, I hope you enjoy.