The waiting game

Is there anything worse than waiting to hear news of something you care about?

I finally got confirmation today that Northwestern does, in fact, have all the materials they need to make a decision about my application for grad school. So now I'm playing the waiting game of watching the days tick by before they tell me either yes, I'm moving to Chicago, or no, I'm staying put in DC for a little while longer.

It's agony.

I know that of the long list of "news" I could be waiting for, grad school acceptance isn't (or shouldn't be) high-stress inducing. But honestly, I think it's the fact that they make you wait for an answer that freaks me out. Am I just so impatient that I can't stand to wait four lousy weeks for results?

Two months ago, my confidence was unshakable--I talked about moving to Chicago without a hint of doubt. Now, instead of using words like "when I move" I have somehow shifted to "if I move." And it's all because now, I no longer have control of the situation. It's in someone else's hands. And that bugs the hell out of me.