Third time's the charm

via Toothpaste for Dinner

We're in the middle of Interview Weekend for my grad program. Yeah, it's kinda like that. Except the vision quest is interrupted by free lunches, free dinners, and 2 hour tours of an 8 story museum that leaves you thinking "WHAT ON EARTH did I just see??"

This is my third time around in this experience, and it gets better every time. When I interviewed, I was a nervous wreck in the middle of questioning my purpose in life. Last year,  I was excited and relieved, and was really starting to feel like I belonged in my program. Now it's my third and final chance at all this wining and dining, and I'm just here to have fun. There's no pressure - I'm never going to share a library with the incoming class, and the first years are handling most of the organizational tasks. My class has been pretty preoccupied waiting to hear back about jobs, so all this fuss is a welcome distraction.

So I guess you can say this is the museum's and my second anniversary. I'm so grateful for the time I've had here, and feel proud of all I have learned. Big gatherings like this always make us students feel like we're part of a real community of scholars, where you can geek out over textiles or architecture at the lunch table, and where your colleagues really do want you to succeed. And if you can have kitchen dance parties in your off hours, then that's even better.

When I got home from my first Interview Weekend, I got a double fortune cookie.

Everywhere you choose to go, friendly faces will greet you.
Many pleasurable and memorable adventures are in store for you!

I think we can safely say that has come true.