Rejection

February 23rd: free food, clay birds, and a rejection letter.

I received a rejection letter in the mail from Western Michigan University today.

Kalamazoo will remain a chilly, faraway place. I will not rent a studio apartment on the fourth floor of a complex close to campus. I will not buy snow boots, or a down jacket, or move my belongings into storage and reduce my romantic relationship to a series of plane tickets and gmail chats.

I can hold on to my dreams of making soap out of goats milk, tutoring composition, and reading classic novels late into the night. I can continue being poor and happy on 23 hours of work a week, and a gazillion hours of readjusting and perfecting my true self.

Still, I am disappointed. I fear 4 out of 4 rejection letters. I still need to hear from New Mexico, Arizona, and Western Washington. The wait continues...