A week later...she looks for an apartment.

There are several things to do in lieu of going to grad school. Turns out looking for an apartment is one of them.

The apartment hunt, dutifully led by my cousin with whom I will be sharing a "lovely 2BR apt, in a quiet location, with a lot of light, shiny hardwood floor, high ceilings, brand new ceramic tiles in the kitchen and bathroom, brand new electric appliances," has commenced. (Notice we only get one hard wood floor, but multiple high ceilings-- I've learned it is important to pay close attention to details such as these.) 

We have yet to find an apartment, that isn't
a. located atop a sketchy barbershop....

b. at the end of a long hallway overlooking a dimly lit alleyway full of garbage and abandoned furniture,

c. reeking of cat litter....used cat litter.

And when they say electric appliances, they mean the standard refrigerator and oven. Don't get excited. Nobody's throwing in a free toaster or smoothie-maker. You will have a refrigerator. You will have an oven and a stove....they will (most likely not) be brand new. You will deal with this.

At the end of the search, exhaustion sets in, but ultimately you're stuck in a dream world. It looks like this:

2 BR loft only $1550! No broker fees, in a beautiful, safe area. Not a barbershop in sight.
Available exactly when you're ready to move in and not a moment before!

Snapping out of this dream world, you will be faced with the fact that your first-ever apartment will probably resemble this:

$1625/mo. Pets under 30lbs welcome.

Good to know. Now, where's the damn scale?

I promise, the search is tons of fun. And by June, I know I will have that lovely apartment with hard wood floor(s) that I'll probably cover with an area rug, wall-to-wall furniture, and eventually lots of clothes, clean and dirty. I have just negated the appeal of hard-word floor(s), but I ignore this realization. Floor or floor(s), half of it is mine, all mine, and I can't wait :)

What exactly does one do the day after she's been rejected from grad school.

Well, for starters, she doesn't go to the gym, she doesn't emerge from her room, and she doesn't get in the shower to start her day on time....


Wait, I haven't done any of those things any day for about 3 months. {Phew} I guess I'm fine then, thank goodness.


Here's what I'm thinking: Every cliché ever in the history of things to say when you don't get something you want. Below are a few examples: 

• You shouldn't have thrown all your eggs in one basket.
• Everything happens for a reason.
• When God closes a door He opens a window.
• This isn't the end of the world.
• Back to the old drawing board.
• Grad School is overrated.

I added that last one. It's not really a cliché, though it does make me feel better. 


And now, once all of those meaningless, overused phrases are out of the way, I'm still left with a wounded ego and no clue what to do next. 

One of my major concerns with the prospect of getting into grad school was that I simply would never have enough time to pursue that Broadway acting career I secretly still dream about when I'm home alone applying makeup before a huge mirror. There. Now that the time-consuming schedule of night classes, day-time internships, and studying has been swiftly taken away from me, I'll have plenty of time for Broadway. So that's Plan B.....

mmmmmm maybe not. 


Okay, fantastical dreams aside, what to do about all of the people I have told about applying to this fine school? 


The very obvious thing is that I tell no one, let them assume I've been accepted, then move out of my parents' house, get a job as a waitress (a honed skill), and read every novel of any list entitled Top 100 Books Everyone Should Read Before They Die.


This plan will ensure that I will be well-read, (self) educated, and verbally impressive; I'll be ready for all of those 20-something social gatherings, where my colleagues, who have in fact been accepted to grad school, won't be able to tell the difference between my 'library' of knowledge and theirs.


That's simple enough. Now all I have to do is train myself to stay awake when I read....


And finally: The dilemma of the cautious B.A. in English. 


There are children all over the world who don't have money to even think about going to grammar school, let alone University. So I'm done complaining about that one. (I wish I thought of this approach sooner. Would've saved me a year of feeling semi-unaccomplished.)


So to answer my own question what exactly does one do the day after she's been rejected from graduate school?


I will listen to my own clichés and those of others, never quit dreaming of Broadway, furthering my education, or raising baby tigers (....I didn't go into that here, did I?), and never let on that rejection was close to getting the best of me. When I look at things that way I can't help but be enlightened by the fact that in the scheme of my whole life, this is, as they say, merely a bump in the road.