"It's Only the Beginning"

Monday morning at exactly 9:00 a.m. my phone's screen lit up. An unknown number had dialed my phone, and I almost broke down when I saw the town it was from: Ann Arbor, Michigan. I picked up the phone in a state of full-on panic, my breath escaping me. Yes, I was Patricia. Yes, I was having a good day. And then the voice at the other end of the line told me I was in. At this point in time, I wanted to break down but I knew I couldn't. I thanked her graciously. And then there was more news - a scholarship. A very, very big scholarship. It took everything I had to not cry and quickly get off the phone before making a fool of myself. I squeaked out a thank you, hung up the phone, and lost it. I completely lost it, I don't remember the last time I've cried that much and I just couldn't help it. Thank goodness I was in my apartment getting ready for the day and not in public or else I would've been sent to some sort of therapist.

As I've been explaining it to my friends - it's something that I have worked so hard for that I have never once stopped thinking to myself "what am I doing today that is going to get me into U of M?" Even writing this post four days later in the library has got me choked up. I feel as though I have reached my ultimate goal - even though I know realistically I have many other goals that will feel like ultimate goals in the future. But that one phone call, that one sentence, made everything worth it.

I've wanted to be a dentist since I was in the 8th grade, and I've known I've wanted to go to U of M since then. In middle school, long before I even met my fiance who now lives and works in Ann Arbor, I knew that that school was where I was supposed to end up. But I knew I didn't want to put all of my eggs in one basket so I applied to many schools and interviewed at them too. Throughout the day, I received acceptances to all of them. So there I was asking myself, why me? Why am I so special? Why did God choose me to bestow all of these gifts? And I find myself asking these questions still.

I am incredibly blessed beyond measure, and I will never be able to repay God for what He has given me. But I will try, and I will do everything I can to be gracious, and to never speak negatively of my situation because I have absolutely no reason to. God is good.

So after receiving this life-changing bit of information, I struggled through my classes. Went home, went to the grocery store, bought all of the U of M swag I could find. Bought yellow and blue cupcake mix, and yellow and blue frosting. And then I went home and made blue and gold cupcakes with blue and gold frosting and drew little block M's on the top. I decided it would be nice to thank my letter writers and everyone else that has helped me get to where I am. At the grocery store when I was checking out, the cashier asked if I had found everything alright and I basically blurted out my entire life story, "Yes I found everything, I got into U of M today, I'm going to be a dentist, my fiance lives in Ann Arbor so we're going to look for apartments, we're getting married this June, etc." Looking back this probably freaked her out a bit, but whatever, she asked!

Legally Blonde: the Musical has basically summed up my entire week:
"Is that my name up on that list?
Does someone know that I exist?
Is this a mistake?
Am I even Awake?
Pinch me now to make sure... OW!

Yes that's my name in black and white
maybe I'm doing something right
WOW! I feel so much better
Than before!"

And for those of you who are still waiting for acceptances/interviews/whatever, the cycle is not over yet! I have had many, many friends interview post-December and get into their number one school. Hang in there and stay positive.

As far as the title of my post goes, everything that's happened this week reminds me of that scene in Grease at the very beginning where Sandy is crying and upset over her having to leave to go back to Australia, and Sandy asks, "Danny...is this the end?" And he grabs her face and goes, "Of course not, it's only the beginning."

Because who doesn't love a "Grease" analogy?

Until next time!
PJ