A Big Disappointment

I've been putting off writing this blog entry, but finally decided to Just Do It! I received a letter from Weber yesterday telling me I did not get accepted into the Nursing Program. The reason cited was my G.P.A. did not meet the minimum requirement to be accepted into the program. Now, this is a little confusing to me as I currently have a 4.0 at Weber, and graduated from the University of Utah in 1989 with a G.P.A. that met Weber's minimum requirement. The only thing I can figure is they're looking at my G.P.A. from my A.S. I received in 1983 (yes....you read it, 1983) which was not high enough to meet the minimum requirement. I can't confirm this for sure until April 2nd, when they're holding a meeting for all the people rejected (the rejects, as I lovingly refer to those of us that didn't make the cut) to answer any questions. I was also informed that I cannot meet with an advisor to discuss any of this until after this date.

Boy, talk about your past catching up with you! Oh, to be able to go back to your late teens/early 20's with the the wisdom and experience you have now! I will say it made quite an impression on the kids, especially Caitlin, and I think this whole experience gave them a clue as to why we're always talking about their grades and making sure they're keeping them up. Both kids are good students but we're always reinforcing this and pushing them (nagging them) along.

I must say I was very touched by the way in which both the kids resonded to me when I got this news. Caitlin took my hand, sat me down on the couch, told me I could cry if I wanted to, and proceeded to tell me she knew I had worked very hard, that I must be very disappointed, and it was Weber's loss. I hadn't cried at all until then, and I believe I was crying as much in response to the compassionate way in which she treated me as I was out of disappointment!

I am disappointed, It's hard to have put in all this work these past months, and I have that darn Chemistry grade up to an A, no less! And if I'm really honest, it's a bit of a blow to the old ego. No, actually it's a big blow. It's funny that no matter how old a person is, it still stings to be rejected.

Of course I will be talking to the Nursing Department on April 2nd to get some more information. My gut feeling is that they'll tell me I need to take the majority of those core classes over in order to get my G.P.A. up from where it was when I got my A.S., but we'll see. Why this was never brought to my attention to begin with is the first question I'll ask. I know I showed my transcripts to at least one advisor, but I'm wondering if they only looked at cumulative when I graduated with my B.A. in English rather than the A.S.

In the meantime, I've arranged two appointments with advisors next week to look into two other programs; one is in Health Information Systems and the other would be doing the coursework to complete another Bachelor's Degree, this time in Social Work, and go on to the Master's Program for my M.S.W. I'll evaluate how long all these different programs will take, including doing what it will ultimately take to get accepted into the Nursing Program, the cost, and of course, what I can expect to make upon graduating. Oy vay!

So, today I took a mental health day. I have not cracked a book or checked my online classes at all. In fact, at around 9:00 this morning I was trying to determine how to best deal with this disappointment. I determined the situation called for chocolate, wine, or shopping. I had no chocolate in the house worth eating, it was a tad early for wine (I wasn't THAT devastated), so that left shopping. I went shopping with the gift card my dad gave me for my birthday and bought myself a couple of spring shirts to cheer myself up. Then I went and bought some pansies to plant in the front yard, and sat down and read a good book. After I felt I'd indulged myself enough and was done with my pity party, I made the phone calls about the above programs and got things in motion again.

Life is full of disappointments, but it does go on. Also, I am a firm believer that things happen for a reason. As a person of faith, I know that our plans and God's plans for us are sometimes not the same. So, I'm going on faith that in the next few weeks/months I'll know what path to pursue and maybe it will still be nursing and maybe it won't. One life lesson I have learned is that the only thing in life that we can be sure of is that things change and the more open we are to that, the more peace we ultimately have within ourselves.

In the meantime, dinner needs to be cooked, Caitlin needs to be taken to work, and Sam needs to be taken to a party!