Back to school I go

Today I registered for my first class as a grad student at DePaul University. I knew it was going to be a good experience when I shook the admission advisor's hand and realized we were wearing the exact same outfit—a fitted white t-shirt over a white tank-top, dark skinny jeans and dark flats. She was a blonde named Becky and about four inches shorter than me, but otherwise: twins.  So, naturally, my first sentence was "Hi, I'm Shannon." My second was "We are the same person." She laughed and said, "Even the shoes!" That made my comment less awkward. Thank you, Becky.

I made an in-person appointment only after attempting to register online and noticing that the class I was told I had to take right away was full and only accepting people onto a waiting list. Crap. I mean, I knew I was going to hit some barriers when I only gave myself a month to figure everything out between sending in my application and the beginning of classes, but still. Surprisingly, everything went smoothly with the application material, and financial aid responded in record time. Immunizations: check. Clearing early dismissal with the boss: check. Figuring out how the hell to commute from the suburbs to the Loop at rush hour twice a week: check. BUT WHAT IF I COULDN'T ACTUALLY GET INTO THE CLASS? Damnit.

I walked into the appointment prepared to think creatively and ask for whatever loophole or run-around they were willing to give me that would allow me to register for something today. I sat down, took a breath and explained why I was there. With a smile, Becky replied, "No problem! We added another section to that course, so we can register you today!"

"... Oh ... Awesome! Great. Let's do that."

And now, I am a grad student.