Irishlibra

Well, at least they spiced things up by using a semicolon. Keep your spirits up!

look sharp

mail-order bride

Great post! We area all people of worth, and it's refreshing and inspiring to remember that we all have to start somewhere and that everyone has times when they are insecure. Thanks for sharing!

27 and thrilled!

jumping rope

web domain

E-mail? Phone call? Letter? Website? Admit - Phone call - There's something magical about getting good news over the phone. Rejection - Letter - I can control when and where I open a letter, and I can mentally prepare myself before actually opening the letter. If it's a rejection then I can be opening disappointed in the privacy of my own home.

lip service

If we're talking true mourning here, then I will probably take a day off, sleep in, cry, sleep some more, eat some chocolate, cry, sleep, and when I'm all cried out I will buy a new outfit that will cost way too much money. Life goes on.

Some of these ideas are great! I may have to add some activities to my celebratory list!

white noise

Yay! I was so happy to find this thread. I, too, am shockingly "non-traditional" at 27. I graduated with my BA at 21 thinking that I wanted to have a long and fulfilling career. My career has been shaped, molded, refined and honed through my years of working. I am so glad to be applying at this stage in my life. I'm applying with focus, direction and desire. Also, I have to agree with previous posters in that working hard jobs with stress, low wages, and long hours really gives a person perspective. All the best to the non-trad applicants!

tropical breeze

Columbian coffee

I normally try to run at least 3+ times a week, and I've recently, very recently started doing yoga The yoga has been incredible! It's the perfect way to relax and relieve some of the stress in my life. I'm actually thinking about trying a morning yoga routine. I love to sleep so much that I wouldn't have considered it in the past, but I had a friend that was telling me about all of the benefits he's experienced because of his yoga routine that I just might give it a shot. I, too, need to do more strength training. I usually just do a few push ups and sit ups and call it good.

In the spirit of being positive and keeping the glass half full, how do you plan on celebrating your first acceptance? I plan on taking a personal day off work to take some time to enjoy the freedom from the anxious purgatory that I've been living in. I'll also take that day to share the good news with others and to obsessively start researching the school, program, city, etc. My day will probably involve guilt free chocolate too! How will you celebrate?

I second the Oviedo option. I lived in O-town for about three years and always felt like Oviedo was a good balance between being close to campus whilst not being too close to campus.

I'm definitely the type to not look anything after my application is submitted. If I find a mistake then I know I will obsess about it, and who really needs MORE to worry about. I can barely keep it together as it is.

Ironically, I read this post and that very night I had a two-part nightmare where one of my schools "never received my application" and another school had rejected me by sending my denial letter with my personal statement having highlighted the portions they thought were either redundant, ambiguous, irrelevant, or just plain stupid. I really need to get grad school out of my head. It's pathetic how it now haunts me day AND night.

I figured I'd chime in on this conversation as I've taught as freshman comp as adjunct faculty. I taught two sections my first semester with virtually no training. I spent about an hour with my "mentor' who basically gave me his syllabus, a couple of tests he had written and the assigned text that the whole department was expected to use. I asked him a few questions, and that was the last that I saw of him. Teaching was intense, but fulfilling. I learned so, so, so much (often I learned things from the school of hard knocks) but I am very glad that I taught. I learned that I love teaching. In terms of teaching one section vs. two. I honestly didn't think that teaching two sections was much more work than teaching one (with the very large exception of doubling the number of papers I had to grade). As a first-time teacher, most of my time was spent creating lesson plans. Also, it was nice to be able to "fix" any problems that I experienced during the first section. I think it made me a better teacher. I would definitely go for a TA. You will learn so much! Happy applying!

I've definitely gotten moodier! In fact, I'm downright cranky at work. I always have to double check to make sure my filter is working before speaking. All I need is one acceptance to take the pressure off. Please, oh please!

My new hobby is spending waaaaaay too much time at The Grad Cafe.