Good news!

This week, I can officially report that I have been accepted to Temple University for the Masters program! Hooray! I had some rather unofficial hints earlier (for which I was very grateful- I had been alittle obsessed over whether I got in or not), but this week I got the letter. I will say that the letter from the admissions department there was worded strangely; but the outcome was the same. I'm getting my Masters at Temple, starting in the fall.

This feels tremendous for me. First of all, I didn't decide I wanted to go for my Masters until the end of November (at Thanksgiving time). I pulled all this off in a month and a half. I'm very proud of myself. The essay, the transcripts, the letters of reference, the AUDITION, the trip to Philly, etc. It feels very good.

Secondly, my acceptance into this program means more to me than my acceptance into some other programs I've been involved in. I really wanted to get in of course, so that is a good part of the reason. But also, during my interview I really showed them a large part of who I am in a real way. Of course I did the "talk the talk" thing some, but then I opened myself. I essentially said, "this is who I am on a deeper level- I hurt, I cry, I want these things in my life, I have these passions, I am all these things... And, for the first time in quite a while I found these to be people who really saw who I was. They heard me and they listened. Sometimes you open yourself to someone on a deeper level, and they may not even notice or see that deeper place you were trying to share.

They saw me.

So, my worries were that maybe having seen me, they wouldn't want me in the program. However, I now find that they saw who I am on a deep level, and they really want me in the program, That means A LOT to me.

In other news, my cyst is better. Thanks for your well wishes. I'm still in pain during the day, but not the burning kind of pain, and not pain all the time. My acupuncturist gave me some trauma pills on Monday, and they really helped. I was able to work and do alright with it. I did have a moment when one of my clients was tantruming and banging his head against my chest when I thought I might pass out from the burn...but you know, on the whole, things are on the up and up ;)

And, the cyst is actually getting a bit smaller! It was softer before, but now I can tell that it feels shallower too. I think it may be starting to go away. I have to be careful about using the right side of my body still. I think that the cyst, over time, has become a part of the musculature of my chest. So, now that the cyst is softening it's affecting that side. It makes sense to me. In the long run, I'm ok with it because it is a positive step for me. I just need to be careful.

I will say that the cyst's departing is kind of sending me on an emotional roller coaster. For those of you who don't know, I normally don't eat any sugars- corn syrup down through juice sweetener. Well, I've put a hold on that. I need some crutch for helping with this emotional process of the cyst's dispersing. I've decided I'm ok with sugar being that for a short period of time. Plus, it's kind of fun to eat chocolate again ;)

So, that's the good news with school, and the news that's hard in the short-term, but good overall, with my cyst.