Minus the Y

I got an email Wednesday of last week.

Hello! Your decision letter has been mailed within the past few days. If you do not receive it by March 16th, please let Jen Healey (jahealey@bu.edu) know and we’ll make the appropriate arrangements. Please note that we cannot email admission decisions or give our decisions over the phone.

I guess that's kinda funny, from a certain angle. Especially considering that I wasn't expecting to find out until the end of this month. "Now," thought I, "I get to check my mail with ever-increasing anxiety until the 16th."

But the very next day, I missed a phonecall from John Bernstein. He left a charming and unexpectedly lengthy voicemail, expressing his regret for having missed me when I visited his school. And oh, by the way, "we have, of course, accepted you into our program."

All the way up until about last September, I had decided I was going to hold off on grad school until...oh, who knew? But last semester, I became overwhelmed with a desire to go back to Boston, and subsequently became fixated on East Coast screenwriting programs. I found out BU had one of the best. So I flew myself out before Thanksgiving, visited the school, and decided I would certainly at least apply.

BU was the only school to which I applied. It was Boston or bust, as far as I was concerned. And, as time went by, and I worked on my application, I thought that if I was accepted, I might go or I might not.  After all, most of the people I love are right here in Utah. Why leave now? Why not wait? I would decide, I decided, later.

Minutes after listening to that voicemail from Professor Bernstein, the answer quietly came.

Have you ever been to Boston in the Fall? It's lovely.