This winter has felt especially cumbersome. Our home shares a virus or bacteria regularly, clearing our sinuses enough to inhale the next germ of the week. One day, the temperatures spike just enough to encourage flowers and tree leaves to bud — only to dip below freezing within hours. It’s no wonder our bodies can’t seem to fend off illness these days. Endless rainy weather begs the question to build an ark. Rare sunny days invite silly caveman style speech about “strange glowing ball in sky!” I’ve felt more motivated to hibernate than put words on the screen.
That being said, Saturday night brings the time change — and how I welcome springing an hour forward to revel in daylight until at least 8pm once more. Perhaps the extra hour of daylight in the evenings might inspire me to write and take pictures. The promise of spring will bring photo opportunities for Wednesdays and Sundays. Most importantly, though, the daylight will relieve the Seasonal Affective Disorder that so heinously visits each year.
Perhaps the light will also come in the form of definitive answers from PhD programs. Currently, I’m at 1a/6r/0w/3p in prospective grad student lingo. In plain English, it means I’ve received one acceptance, six rejections, no waitlists, and still have three pending applications. The word from professors and other applicants is that the first year of applications usually results in a shut-out. While it may seem like at least one school came through, all is not sunny just yet. I have been waitlisted for funding.
Now, the doom and gloom that I may not become a PhD student this August might convince you I’m on the path to extreme depression. However, all is not lost — I still hold my two adjunct positions and plan to teach as many classes as they’ll offer this Fall if going back to school isn’t in the cards. The answers I need to determine my near future may take a bit longer to find out, but there’s still an ace up my sleeve.
