The Future Firms Up
It's all been a bit of a daze since Thursday.
Note: for the same reason I designated Liberia "Country X", I'm designating the University I'll be mentioning as "O." You know where I'm talking about.
I was talking on the phone to Eli 21.7 in the late morning. We hadn't talked in few days.
"So are you avoiding me because you didn't get the Gaither and don't want to tell me?" I asked.
Eli laughed. "That's an entirely logical chain of thought, but no," he said.
We talked about a random assortment of stupid, silly things, which we do quite often. Then there was a brief silence and he said, "Hold on. I just got an email."
I waited.
"Holy shit, I just got into O," he said.
"What? Are you serious?" I asked. It was the only graduate school he applied to, and if he didn't get in, he was applying to others (along with O again) next year and hopefully doing the Gaither or the Fulbright as a gap year.
He started laughing. "And they're paying £17,000 of my tuition each year! This is crazy."
I don't even remember what we talked about for the next minute or so. It was a blur. "Oh, wait, I got it wrong," he said.
Oh, well, I thought. Just getting in is a huge deal, even if we're paying for all of it. It's still unbelievable. One of the happiest days of my life.
He started laughing again. "They're paying ALL my tuition and giving me a £17,000 a year stipend for living expenses! What is happening?"
I felt like the luckiest person on Earth to be on the phone with him while he found all of this out.
Later, he called me with more information. If he stays to do his doctorate, the offer is extended for three more years.
I drove down to Ann Arbor and we had breakfast yesterday.
"I'm having a bit of difficulty processing reality right now," I said.
"You and me both," he said.
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