back to school

After two rejections and a LOT of worrying, I got into the Archaeology Ph.D. program at Boston University--the one program I really wanted to get into. I'm thrilled. I'm ecstatic. I'm...totally freaking out. Things will be a lot better once B.U. sends me more information--all I have at the moment is the following email--one of the most wonderful things to ever hit my inbox:

Dear Ms. Goldfield,

I am happy to inform you that the Graduate Studies Committee in the Department of Archaeology at Boston University will be making a recommendation to the Dean of the Graduate School that you be admitted to our PhD program in Archaeology for Fall 2010 enrollment. You will eventually receive a formal letter from the Dean, but in the meantime, on behalf of the entire Department, let me offer you congratulations and express our great desire to have you as our student here at BU.

We would be delighted to have you here in our Department and hope that you will strongly consider coming. Please let me or my colleagues know if there are questions we can answer for you.

Congratulations to you, again for your achievement, and with best regards,

Chris Roosevelt

C. H. Roosevelt

Associate Professor

Director of Graduate Admissions

Ok. So that's great news. I'll get to be back in school, my brain will no longer be atrophying, and I'll be living close to home for the first time in six years. But I also don't know where I'm going to live, how I'm going to pay for grad school, how the program works, how to take classes, whether or not I'll get a stipend or a TA position, and tons of other unknowns that are seriously undermining my sense of order in the universe. Fortunately I know I'll be getting a packet in the mail at some point soon that will explain much of this, and the rest will come in time. So I'm stressed as anything, but also really truly happy. 

Plus...it means I get one of THESE:

(and a Ph.D.)