Life's still okay.
Under the Weather
Speaking of the weather, the wonderfully warm 60-degree days were abruptly replaced by—get this—snow. I know, I couldn't believe it either when I woke up yesterday and the lawn was blanketed by white. Anyway, the change in temperature is most likely getting a good percentage of the student body sick, including me.
On Sunday I got sick, and I don't know if it was the flu or something more severe, but I got the whole deal: fever, sore throat, chills, dizziness, cough, congested (my entire face, really), headache, etc... I just curled up in bed in the afternoon and slept a good five hours. When I felt conscious enough, I got up and munched on a bagel. Mmm. Then I brushed my teeth and went back to sleep until I woke up at 8:30 on Monday morning.
“How can you sleep so much?” My roommate asked me incredulously.
Well, if you're sick, you tend to sleep a lot more...Either that, or I must have accumulated a ton of sleep debt. Or both.
Last night, my friend next door came over and asked me,
“Hey, are you getting up tomorrow?”
Hmm, I don't know. Sleeping the whole day would've been a great option, but what she meant to say was: Are you getting up early tomorrow so we can go to the gym? Like you said?
This morning, I miraculously managed to wake up at 8:15, and yes, I did go to the gym. Yay! :)
Surprise
(Note the lack of an exclamation point above.)
Yesterday I went to Chem recitation. Last Wednesday was the chem exam, and I missed 5/25 questions. Okay, so that put me at an 80/100. I can live with an 80%...which ought to correspond with a B.
But no. Surprise. The professors decided to curve down. An A was a 96 and above, a B was 84 and above, and a C was 64 and above.
Which means (after I did some sluggish calculations in my head in recitation)...I have a C for my first chem midterm. :(
Life happens. It's okay. I'm more determined than ever to study hard and prepare well for the next two midterms and finals. It's still possible to do well in the class with a C (or two) on the midterms.
Applications
Did I tell you I applied to be a Resident Assistant (RA) in January? The paper application (including an essay and two reference letters, plus a community involvement evaluation from my current RA) was due in early January, followed by a panel interview (you and a hall director plus a current RA) as well as a group interview (you and six other people being observed by two RAs and a hall director). The two interviews made up the first round, which, thankfully I passed by the end of January.
My second interview was a chat with the Residence Life Coordinator on the campus for which I would like to be an RA—Douglass, of course—and that was earlier this month. It wasn't until today that they finally emailed us the results.
And....
I didn't get it. But that's okay too! Instead, next year I get to room with one of my best friends here at Rutgers, and we're living in Bunting-Cobb again. I don't think things could've worked out better.
Seniors, as you start to get letters back from universities, don't worry. It seems like a really big deal when you pull out the letter that says “Dear ___, Thank you for applying to ____, but the applicant pool was extremely talented, and although you are one of these really talented people, we are regretful to inform you that we couldn't admit you because we can only admit so many students. Sorry again.”
Trust me, I got those too—I got rejected from 3 out of 6 of the schools I applied to...or rather, I got accepted into 3 out of 6 schools I applied to, depending on how you look at it. Sure, I was a little disappointed (I definitely had my “they totally should've admitted me” thoughts, followed rapidly by “well, it's their loss”), but you know what? It narrows down your choices when you actually have to make that final decision of which university you'll go to next year.
As I learned in Psych 101 last semester, more rejections lead to greater success later in life! Well, actually, the professor said that a greater number of rejections leads to a greater number of millions of dollars later in life (when rejection = failing to get published the first time around).
Even when it seems we're looking at life from the wrong side, there are still a lot more bright spots around us. Just look for them.
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