Waiting, Revised...

Last year I felt the waiting for results was almost unbearable. However, after discovering I did not pass, the intervening time between receiving the results and signing up for the 2006 FS Candidacy cycle became ten times worse.

Following the exam, there is nervousness, some anxiety, and lots of conjecture. And you are not along; everyone is anxiously waiting together. Following those results, however, you've got two very different paths: joining those who will pass or those who did not.

Those who pass begin excitedly gearing up for the Oral Assessment (FSOA), and those left behind would either drift away (permanently or until the next cycle) or be hangers-on of sorts, eager to try again, yet secretly wishing they could have given the OA a go. Perhaps this time, perhaps next time.

In any event, I shan't make that mistake again. I'm going to relax and really enjoy the quiet ambiguity of these three months.

"My way is long, and the road is foggy foggy." — Burning Spear