I'd like to thank the Academy...

A week ago today I got something in the mail that really made my day. More than my day, actually. It made my month, or maybe even my year.

I'm probably placing too much importance on it because I know it means less than I think it does, but nevertheless, however insignificant it may be, I'm really touched by it.

What am I talking about? Okay, here it is. I received a letter from the honors office here at Texas A&M saying that I was awarded a scholarship for the 09-10 school year. While that was certainly good news, I honestly didn't really care. I called my mom anyway just to let her know (she cares about that stuff way more than I do), and started reading the letter to her. Blah, blah. Then I screamed.

I hadn't read the entire letter, silly me. I only read the first paragraph where it said what I'd been awarded and why. Then, later on in the letter, they went on to say that "given your achievements thus far, we believe that you have the potential to become a candidate for prestigious national scholarships such as the British-Marshall, Gates-Cambridge, Truman, Churchill, and Rhodes Scholarships." They told me to visit the honors office early in the fall semester to talk about being selected as an institutional nominee. Okay, now I was pretty excited. I knew that was a very high compliment they just paid me--much higher than I deserved.

Let me just say right now, for the record, I have no desire of winning any of those scholarships. I don't even care if I never make it past the first round. Really. Just knowing that they see me as a potential candidate is plenty. I respect the honors office and I know they are not the type to waste time and falsely inflate hopes, so I am honored by their opinion. (As a matter of reference, I'm pretty sure 75% of the recipients of the Rhodes scholarship in the past year were from either Yale, Harvard, or Stanford).

So, I can now honestly say I know what actors/actresses mean when they say on the red carpet of the Oscars, "It's an honor just to be nominated!" Although, technically, I'm not even nominated for any of these scholarships yet. I probably won't even get that far. It's more like I'm nominated to be nominated which, again, is an honor in itself.

I don't know how many other people at A&M received letters like mine. Probably a lot. But that doesn't matter to me. It's not about winning or beating other people. To me it's just about somebody out there recognizing my hard work and tipping their hat.

Of course, I will go and talk to them and, depending on how lengthy the application process is, I may decide to go ahead and give it a shot (even though it seems like a waste of time). But regardless of what happens, I'm keeping that letter. Right now it is sitting on my dresser right next to my program from my grandpa's funeral, which lies face down so that the obituary and his picture can be seen. Now, whenever I pass by my dresser on my the way out, I see my grandpa's face and that letter. Two small tokens that, while trivial to others, remind me of who I am every day. Behind my grandpa's eyes and beneath the honors office's praise lie the support and encouragement I need for the day. The 08-09 school year challenged me in many ways, mentally and emotionally, and I feel like this letter somehow helped to make it all worth it. Cliche and shallow, I know, but hey, you have to make the little things in life count!

P.S. Now I no longer harbor ill-feelings toward my postwoman.