It's important to be proud of who you are, and what you've earned. It doesn't mean that you don't have things to learn. It means that you've accomplished something you find personally meaningful. If you can't take pride in that, what can you take pride in?

I have finally made a lifelong goal feasible. It doesn't mean I know everything -- although I do know my spelling. It just means that I've been successful. That I've learned to work hard and well.

I've learned something else this evening. A response to hatred only brings more hatred with it. Especially in regards to intellectualism and the academy. I don't think the academy's perfect. Far from it. Being granted entrance, however, is a legitimate personal success of the highest order. People who write off intellectualism and scholarship do themselves a disservice. Sure, the academy elevates itself. (As do all professions.) But just because it does that doesn't mean that it's without value.

Good lessons, all.

I'm proud of what I've done, and where I'm going. The location might not yet be set in stone, but the trajectory is firmly in place.

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Unexpected summer funding has appeared, to my great happiness and relief. And the French midterm -- I did surprisingly well. A very happy day.

~Linds