The Acceptance Letter

She had not been expecting a letter. Well, that's not entirely true. She was expecting plenty of letters, but she did not anticipate any of them being contained in a large envelope complete with the notification that she had been accepted into law school. She had applied to a dozen law schools, including some big name schools, but she didn't actually expect any one of them to accept her. Her grades had been perfect all through her undergraduate career, but she knew there was more to it than that. She was certain that she did not do well at all on the LSAT's, and she felt that, regardless of her perfect grades, she would be rejected by all of the schools to which she applied. It was only another one of her whimsical fantasies that provoked her to apply in the first place. She was too much of a dreamer to wear a pinstriped suit for the rest of her life. She was the poetic type; some people might even call her bohemian. She hated being confined to an office and much preferred the freedom to roam. She supposed it did not matter now anyway.

It was laughable, really. Try to imagine the valedictorian of her graduating class doing poorly on a test. But she choked on the day of the exam. Looking back on that morning, she felt convinced she had answered questions incorrectly, thought that she had not completed some of the sections, and believed she may have even answered a few questions out of order. She was not sure what her problem was, but the bottom line is that she did miserably on the exam, and she was going to be denied a future in the legal profession.

It was, therefore, no surprise when she received her first rejection letter. Harvard Law had rejected her. She opened the letter and read something to the effect of, "We regret to inform you, Ms. Shaw, but we are unable to accept you into our program. However, we appreciate your interest in our school. Best wishes in your future endeavors, etc., etc." And it was signed by someone who might as well have said, "Sincerely, Dr. Cold and Impersonal." Sadly, the next seven or eight letters looked exactly the same, and she had begun to lose all hope of ever getting into law school and furthering her education. She would just have to choose a different career path.

Several days later, after the huge stack of small envelopes arrived, another envelope appeared in her mailbox; only this one was a much larger one. Taking a deep breath and then exhaling slowly, she tore through the envelope and started reading. She could not believe what she saw. Columbia University wanted her. After being rejected by Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and even a few of the smaller schools, she had no hope of being accepted by anyone, but Columbia University accepted her. Her dream of going to law school was about to come true after all! She had not been expecting an acceptance letter; she had only dreamed of receiving one. Sometimes, though, it is a beautiful thing to have big dreams.