Update on current existence

On February 2nd I had an interview at the Marriage and Family graduate program at BYU. A lot of people have been asking how that went. Thank you for showing an interest in my life. I really appreciate it. Unfortunately, it is one of those things that I almost wish people would ignore for the next two weeks so that I can pretend I am not internally crapping my metaphorical pants, but you cannot pick and choose what parts of your life are interesting to others.

FAQS:

How did it go? 

Honestly, I'm not sure. There were parts of the day where my inner monologue was sassy and of African decent screaming, "oh, oh, you are KILLIN' IT, FOO. They ain't got no one who has ever killed it the way you have. mmhmmmm. You know that's right." There were other moments where all I could think was, "why are you here? why are you here? why are you here? YOU ARE AN EMBARRASSMENT, MESERVY." Sadly, both of these extremes were accompanied by a faint sense that I was on the brink of vomiting and a profuse amount of sweating, so I cannot confidently state that I did well, or poorly. I think we are just going to have to wait and see.

When will you hear back?

All 28 of the MFT applicants interviewed last week. The majority of us came on Monday, but a small group came Friday. Therefore, deliberation begins this coming week. The earliest I will hear back is early next week.

How many people are selected for the program?

There are 11 places available for the 28 of us who applied. That means I have roughly a 39% chance of being accepted. Granted, the selection of applicants is not random, however, as I do not know how I did (see FAQ number 1), my chances feel pretty random at this point.

What was the interview like?

At the beginning of the day we were presented with a schedule. This schedule divided the 21 of us present into small groups of five or six and listed times we would be seen by different professors. In our groups we rotated through rooms where professors were to ask us questions and answer any questions we had. In addition to meeting with the professors and answering their questions, for one of our "interviews" we had 15 minutes in a computer lab to answer three short answer questions and submit them.
Around noon, we were shepherded into a room to have lunch, and begin our one-on-one interview process. Each of us would have three interviews in three rooms, each with 3-4 professors there to ask us questions. My interviews were scheduled at 1:00, 3:00, and 3:55. While we waited, we sat and visited with the other applicants and current MFT students who came in and out to meet with us.
The day began at 9am and ended with a "pizza party"(we were all so desperate to get out and never see that room again, that the "party" aspect was definitely a stretch) at 5pm.
The worst part of the day for me was the waiting in that board room. I knew that the existing students were there to assess us all on our personalities and pleasantness, and what they would have to say about each of us would be taken into consideration, however, all I wanted to do was crawl under the table and lay on the floor weeping quietly to myself until my interviews. It wasn't as though the questions being asked were particularly difficult, but knowing that you are putting all your efforts into being accepted somewhere and that you are being judged on your every action and word is mildly horrifying. I am looking forward to being past this point in my graduate career (plz don't remind me that I will be repeating this process when I need to get a job. k thankz).

What happens if you get accepted?

If both Peter and I get accepted at BYU, we will most likely be moving to Provo to attend school there starting August of this year. I have been asked to interview at Seattle Pacific University early this March which I plan to attend to look at the school and program, and perhaps we will find that Seattle is where we need to be. BYU is the best option academically and financially for both of us, but we are open to the fact that God's will doesn't always work on academic and financial motivations.

I think those are all the FAQs I have gotten. If you have any other questions for me, please ask! I will try to answer to the best of my ability :) 

Boasting about how cool you are is hard.

Good news in my life is that I have submitted my graduate school applications! I applied to three different schools, as did Peter. Applying to the three almost killed me, and applying to six put a huge strain in our finances, so the fact that some people apply to 10 or so programs makes me want to weep for their souls.

For me, the hardest part about the application process is having to pitch yourself to those all powerful and all knowing admissions gods. You are given a different set of requirements and page limit for each program, and within those requirements and pages, you need to universally show that you are the best candidate for the school. (For every school). Forget the people who have a perfect 4.0 for their entire undergraduate career, or those who won special awards for services to the school for closing the Chamber of Secrets, I AM THE BEST PERSON FOR YOU TO CHOOSE!

Maybe that would be super easy if I was confident that I WAS the best person for every grad program ever, but in writing these essays I found myself struggling to find things about myself that would be appealing to my potential mentors. Sure, I have talents and awards, but will those things be influential in assessing my application?

Thus, here for you, are the outtakes from my graduate school applications.

- Pursuing a PhD. is something which requires dedication and passion, two characteristics which I have displayed from a young age. By the time I was 12 years old, I had committed the first three Harry Potter novels, by author J.K. Rowling, to memory. Through study and dedication, I will come to know my course materials as well as Vernon Dursley knows mustache care and drills.

- As anyone who has experienced a stressful situation may tell you, pressure can feel like hot fire burning through your skull. Similarly, consuming 50 jalapeño peppers provides a comparable sensation. Luckily, as a seasoned jalapeño eating contest winner, I will offer your program the cool-headed expertise of a hot-tongued champion no matter how stressful times may become.

- In the animal kingdom, establishing dominance over those who seek to overthrow the peace of a tribe is crucial to survival. While I may appear small and of no threat, my belches are famous among my friends and enemies as being large and formidable, and may subdue a foe if met in a battle.

- It takes more than just thorough academia to make a successful therapist. In addition to studies, an extensive fluency in popular culture can assist to build effective rapport with clients. I myself have developed such a fluency, through hours of scrupulous internet browsing and Netflix watching marathons.

- I can text really fast.

- Thanks to new internet technology which allows Facebook likes to help save young orphans, or to banish child abuse forever, online popularity can provide incredible resources to a program. With this information, I also disclose that one of my Facebook statuses achieved 90 likes in only one day. So, I could be pretty valuable.

- Lectures are often long and important to sit through. My bladder capacity is incredible. I can hold urine for hours, and thus will not miss any important instruction time for bathroom breaks.

I could go on, but I won't.
Am I a fool for omitting all of these incredible talents?! Perhaps. Regardless, now all that is left to do is spend the next 5 months regretting my life until I can receive any rejection or acceptance which may be coming my way.