DelaWhere? - Match Results

One of my friends asked for a "Match Day Story," recounting the events and emotions of the day. So here goes.

Let's start with the night prior. I came home from clinic very relaxed and tired, so I took a 3 hour nap. Very nice. I think that's the sleep that let me get through Match Day.

Dilly dallied for the rest of the evening, watched a movie, tried falling asleep. Yeah, that didn't go so well. I really don't even know how many hours of sleep I got, but it definitely wasn't that many.

Although we didn't need to leave the house until about 9:15, but circadian rhythms didn't let me sleep past seven.

I tried distracting myself by reading blogs and online message forums, but that didn't last too long. I didn't want to be rushing, so then I did my hair and make-up. Yeah, once I was "made-up," I was totally ready to leave, but I still had 45 minutes to wait.

Come on time!

Joe wakes up and hops in the shower. He says he can hear me pacing from the shower and to just relax. I could not believe how calm Joe was. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't really nervous, but I was definitely anxious. We've been wondering where we're going to live for so long now and the day finally came. But...just because it's the date on the calendar, we still have to wait until the ceremony. I'm supposed to be the calm one in our relationship. What's up?

So, we're out of the house, on the way to the ceremony. Joe says I'm a bad driver to begin with (I disagree), but I definitely was riding people's butts a little (bad, I know).

The student center has a bar on campus and the school opened it for our class just before the ceremony. Yes, some of us had mimosas at 10 am. Prior to starting the ceremony, we had a brief class meeting to talk about graduation. We were told we'd start opening our envelopes as soon as the meeting was over. So, of course, I had in my mind the sooner we get to the ceremony site, the sooner the meeting starts, and the sooner we get to open our envelopes. So get your butts upstairs, classmates! Yeah, that was not the case. The meeting was supposed to start at 10:30 and it didn't start until 10:45. Yes, I know fifteen minutes isn't a long time, but it felt like eternity.

So Joe popped open the Diet Pepsi I asked him to bring (it's his equivalent to a morning cup of coffee).

Finally, the meeting starts. I'm not paying any attention at all... Thank goodness they handed out a paper with all of the information as well.

And then the ceremony starts! One of our deans pulled the envelopes out of a large box and handed them to our class president. The class president then announced who was next and who was on deck.

Drumroll, the first envelope goes to--not me. I really wasn't surprised about that. I don't know how many people went, probably about 12 or so, and then we hear, "on deck, Amanda..." my heart stops, I look at Joe, he looks like his heart stopped... "not my last name." Whoa. Then I realize there are about 4 or 5 Amanda's in my class and this could happen again. Brace yourself.

Then, right after the Amanda above, we hear, "Amanda not my last name up and Amanda my last name on deck." I let out a little yelp and jumped a little out of my seat. I really wasn't expected two Amanda's in a row. I then quickly apologize for my little yelp to those around me.

Joe and I walk up to the stage and wait our turn. Joe says my face looks like I'm freaking out. I think I was.

I didn't realize how nervous I really was until I saw myself on video. The school broadcasted it live through the internet. If you want to see me constantly readjusting my skirt until Marley finally hands me the envelope, I think I'm at about 35 minutes. Live Stream

I have this annoying habit of getting a super high pitched voice when I'm nervous. By this point, I was no longer anxious, I was down right nervous. To make disappointment easier, I'd been telling myself I was not going to get my #1. However, all week I had this inkling that it was going to be duPont. I didn't want that inkling to get the better of me. I think I was shaking as I opened the envelope.

After I read off my specialty (pediatrics) in one of the highest voices ever, I start reading "my match." But wait, I'm confused. The paper says duPont, but it also says it's in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. No, I want the one in Wilmington, Delaware. Oh that's right, it's part of Jefferson Medical College, which is in Philly, duh Amanda. Oh, no. My girls (watching the feed) are probably confused too since I said Philly. (So I proceed to verbalize it's duPont, the one I wanted.) Ok, now to hug Joe. Wait, where is he? Was he to my right, left, or behind me? Is he really ok we're moving to Delaware? Ahh, there he is, and he's smiling ear to ear. That's a good sign.

We then proceed to walk out of the ballroom so we can call our parents.

I get a hold of Mom. Unfortunately, she didn't have Windows Media Player installed on her work computer and she didn't get to see it live. I called just as IT support arrived at her desk. As I tell mom the good news, I tear up. Good tears of course. I can finally let myself officially fall in love with duPont without being disappointed I'm somewhere else.

Joe tries to call his parents, but they're not home. We definitely had a little WTF moment. But let it pass. Perhaps we forgot to tell them what time we'd be calling. (We got a hold of them later in the day though).

So with the phone calls made, we moved back to the ballroom and I start some mad texting. Fortunately I didn't miss any of my close friends reading their match while we were in the hall.

Match ceremony proceeded, some friends were super happy, some were a little disappointed, but we got through it. By this time, it's only 12:30, so the day is young. However, I'm tired of typing and will end it here. Plus, I think this might be the longest post I've ever wrote.


*Screen shots courtesy of my dear friend, Maricel.