Words from a wallflower

Holy Duck

Exactly seventy days after I received a waitlist email from the University of Oregon (my first choice for a law school), I received this one: “It is my pleasure to inform you of your admission to the University of Oregon School of Law for the 2020-2021 academic year. Congratulations!”

I must have read that part of the email nearly ten times before it finally got through to me. That moment was met with a smile that I could barely contain as I walked to my mom in her home office. I think she knew before I could even get the words out because she instantly became excited, and when I told her about my acceptance, her arms shot up for a double high five, shouting these exact words: “Holy fuck!” Neither one of us could think straight for the rest of the day.

Our neighbors are huge fans of the Oregon ducks, sporting a big green O on their car and other regalia in their garden. When my mom texted her the great news, she danced in front of our house with a bright yellow Oregon shirt on to congratulate me.

The day before I received the email, I was talking to one of my friends about stressing over not having a plan for after graduation, feeling like I wasn’t going anywhere and being intimidated by people who were. With that being said, there couldn’t have been better news that showed up in my inbox. Of course there is a lot to do on a relatively short timeline to get me moved to Eugene, but the excitement I feel for getting into my top choice and having a plan far outweighs any lingering stress.

As encouraging texts and enthusiastic calls came through, I couldn’t help but to think of my dad and how I wish he could be here to celebrate. I imagine his reaction would be similar to the one from my mom.

Thinking of him, though, and everyone else who has helped me get to this point, along with the work I have put in during college, made me incredibly proud to have my support system and work ethic. The reality of me going to law school is slowly sinking in as I continue reading over the words of the acceptance email nearly every day.