BIG, EXCITING NEWS!!!

So, I promised big news today, and here it is: I GOT INTO NURSING SCHOOL.

I got a letter last week from a student in the Admissions Office at the University of Southern Maine saying, "Congratulations on your acceptance and welcome to USM" and proceeded to tell me why she loves it there and why I should choose to go there...except I was really confused, because I hadn't actually been told I WAS accepted.  I decided to just wait a few days and see what happened.

Waiting paid off, and Monday night when I got home I had a letter from USM officially congratulating me and telling me I have been accepted into their Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program starting Summer 2013.  HOLY. MOLY.

This doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to GO there, but it does mean, no matter what, I'm going SOMEWHERE, and you guys, THIS IS SO EXCITING!!!!!!!  I won't hear back from Binghamton or VCU until the end of January, and I won't hear back from Duke until February, so I'm not making any decisions just yet, but even if I don't get accepted anywhere else, I'm accepted there so I'll be going to Nursing School in 2013!

IF I end up going to USM, the program starts mid-May, which means IN LESS THAN FIVE MONTHS I COULD BE MOVING TO THE EAST COAST. HOLY MOLY!!!!!!  Their program is 15 months, which means I would be done by August 2014.  I have not allowed myself to be excited about any of this until today, so I am freaking out a little.  Of course this awesome turn of events is tempered by the fact that it means I'll have to move away from my sister and brother-in-law and sweet little newborn nephew (coming in February) when he's only a few months old, but as my sister reminded me, he'll be too young to remember anyway, and nothing says I have to stay on the East Coast forever.  ;)

So as it stands, here's the update:

• University of Southern Maine--ACCEPTED!!  Starts mid-May.
• Virginia Commonwealth University--application being reviewed, should hear by the end of January.  Starts mid-May.
• Binghamton University (in NY)--application being reviewed, should hear by the end of January. Starts mid-May.
• Duke University (in NC)--application being reviewed, should hear something by mid-February.  Starts mid-August (which is why I said "could" be moving in 5 months--it might be slightly longer depending on what I decide).

I go back and forth on what my top choice is, but right now I'm just pretty excited that there is a light at the end of this tunnel, I have some direction, and I know for sure what the next step is--that's been awhile for me.  And as much as I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE living in the same town as my sister (and now that I live just a few minutes away, it's been even better), I've known for awhile that God was calling me to a new adventure and that Portland was probably not it, at least for now.  So I'm excited (and totally freaking out nervous) about the possibilities that lie ahead.  But no matter what, HUGE changes coming in the next few months!  :)

So that's my big news.  There are a TON of logistics to work out over the next few months and more big decisions to make, but I feel really confident that this is the right path and I have a lot of peace about all of it (even though I'm freaking out).  Thanks for being excited for me and thanks, everyone, for your encouragement and for being so supportive!  You have NO idea how much it means to me and how much I need it.  Cheers to new adventures on the horizon!