What A Day!

I can't say that today was a total waste or anything really negative like that. What I can tell you is that even more things have happened. One of these "things," is the ultimate knowledge of my standings with the Graduate School Programs that I applied to. Out of eight of the schools that I applied to, I have gotten into three. Now, this may not seem like a lot, and if you look at the amount of schools I got into while applying for undergrad, you might be right (I got into eleven out of eleven), but for grad programs, particularly an MFA in Creative Nonfiction (or writing in general) that's pretty bad-ass (or so I've been told). According to Tom Kealey's helpful guide book, "The Creative Writing MFA Handbook: A Guide for Prospective Students," I haven't done too badly.

Why didn't I apply to more places? That's a good question (Me). Since Kealey says that someone looking to get into an MFA program should apply to 8-11 programs, I decided to go with the bare minimum, like Jennifer Aniston's character, Joanna, did with the pieces of flare at her work in the movie, "Office Space." This isn't because I necessarily had certain schools that I wanted to attend, but rather mostly due to funding. As both a student AND a writer, I'm (probably) not going to be blessed with the greatest of financial circumstances and spending roughly $400 dollars on eight schools is a small fortune to me. I'm not saying, in any way to anyone else, that you should go with the very minimum or even that you should have a minimum of eight (I'm sure you could do less, but your chances would be diminished), but that money is a huge deciding factor.

Money may be the reason why I haven't made a decision yet (as I clearly have a decision to make). I have yet to receive anything resembling financial aid packages, and I greatly desire to have assistance in this area. Help for this would be greatly appreciated. In fact, I don't know how I could adequately show my appreciation except maybe dedicate a book or work of some sort to my (hypothetical) benefactor.

In the long run, I'm not sure if this matters or if I'm just thinking about things that will inevitably have little consequence. Truly, the program I choose will most likely determine a good majority of my future, and frankly, that scares the hell out of me. I'm not sure what to do except don a smile and keep on being (acting) happy. I'm not feigning joy, don't get me wrong, but I am beginning to have realizations about my current circumstances and where my decisions will lead me. I would like to know where I'm going, but, in Life, the path is often unlit and any metaphorical torch we're carrying only allows us a fraction of discernible foresight (or something like that). Unfortunately, I think I'm turning into a calculating realist (Or is that a pessimist? I can never tell!).

I will say this: Wherever life takes me, so far, it's been a very interesting ride. Until next time, stay amazing.

Yours,

Nathan

P.S. When throwing clay, whether that be a pot or what have you, make sure you aren't wearing shorts or, at the very least, have something to protect your legs, because clay water is very cold.