A few days ago I receive a letter saying that I had passed the preliminary review for my application to MFA sculpture at Yale. That means I get an interview. While I haven't heard back from any other colleges, I decided that this might be a good catalyst to get me writing again. I stand no hope of making it through an interview if I can't clear my head of all this anxiety and static long enough to put my ideas down on paper.

On the day I received the letter, I was in the focused-rush mode for a project due that evening. I had gone into work at the studio earlier and had returned to pick up my Polaroid camera for a project. The mailman had come by in the interim. After picking up the letter, I found my self in a frenzied state of analyzation of the size and thickness of the letter, and trying to make predictions based on that before I could even get a chance to open it. I sat myself down and took a deep breath before tearing the edge of the envelope off. I could see more than one page, which gave me my best clue that I might have gotten in.

The letter basically says that I passed the preliminary selection jury and that I should call to schedule an interview on one of three dates. It says I should bring any more documentation with me that I wish. I'll bring in more recent slides and some extra video if I can get my hands on it. I called toady and spoke with the assistant for the art department who handles these things. She was nice. It surprised and calmed me a bit. The only perspective on Yale that I have is the snooty, stereo typical, Ivy League school thing. I've read things to the contrary, so I'll look forward to experiencing it myself.

My interview is scheduled for the afternoon of March 29th. Between now and then, I would like to direct most of my conversations with my peers towards preparing for it. I don't plan on bringing up Yale at every opportunity, by any means. I expect myself to be more humble than that. In order to speak well at an interview, I should practice. So I will be seeking out more intelligent conversations than I do normally. Any topic will do. I just need to be better at expressing myself on the fly, verbally. I feel more comfortable sometimes writing. That's not going to help me nearly enough.

I'm a little scared of the whole thing at the moment. I think it will pass, but for the moment I am fairly unconfident in my self. I have plenty of friends and professors who take the much opposite view. I just need to sit and talk with more people who are smarter than I. I want this to go well. I need to calm myself with knowledge. I'll have to call back the assistant at some point and ask her some more questions. I think I'll be fine, just as long as the people there don't interrogate me from some raised, hardwood, judge's bench with really contrasty lighting. That would suck.

Updates will come as they happen. I will write.

posted by cliff

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