The One with Times They Are A-Changin

When I was in junior high I took a photography class all three years from Ms. Adler. She was an interesting character, to put it mildly. I mean, when her yearbook picture is of a statue instead of the normal self portrait, you know something's up, right?I tell ya, every year when we got our yearbooks, the first thing we would do was flip to Ms. Adler's picture to see what artwork she put as herself. But I did manage to find her picture elsewhere in my 7th grade yearbook: I distinctly recall one particular day in photography class. The year was 1997. Ms. Adler kept going on and on about the song Times They Are A-Changin by Bob Dylan. (side note - I love the quality and sound of this video, it's very Dharma Initiative-esque)

"Times They Are A-Changin'" became the theme of our next photo assignment. I took pictures of leaves or something else equally kitsch. But now, whenever some big change happens to me or someone else I know, I always think of Ms. Adler and the day she couldn't stop singing, "Times they are a-changin!"

So here's our big "times they are a-changin" news - we're moving to California! Los Angeles to be exact. Pasadena to be precise (hopefully).

Why?

Because Chris got accepted to the University of Southern California (USC) School of Dentistry, class of 2013.Throughout this entire long and drawn-out (but totally worth it!) process, I've loved reading blogs of those who have gone through similar situations of applying to dental school. However, I always found myself wishing I knew more about what was going on and wishing I was in the same place and wishing I didn't have to deal with all the stress anymore. So, in case there are others out there like me, and if any of those people happen to read my blog, I'm going to re-tell the story of it all...

Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Chris and he dreamed of becoming a dentist. Seriously, since he was like five years old it was his desired occupation in life. A little weird if you ask me. Who LIKES going to the dentist as a child enough to want to be one? Fast forward 12 years, he got accepted early into BYU and peaced out of high school after Christmas break to pursue his dream.

A hop, skip and a jump later, plus a two-year break to serve a church mission to the Philippines, and an eternal marriage to the greatest person on the planet (tee hee!), we arrive at his 22nd birthday in 2007 when his parents gave him a DAT (Dental Admission Test) study guide. Talk about a fun gift! But he says that's what he wanted...

I didn't see Chris much last summer. He was consumed with studying and making flashcards. They took over our kitchen. Like a disease.
On August 1st, 2008, just two days before his 23rd birthday (and the day before the book Breaking Dawn came out!), Chris took the DAT. He says the countdown I had on the side of my blog to Breaking Dawn was a constant reminder to him of how close the test was. I was looking forward to it, and he was dreading it. But, all his hard work and studying paid off and he got a really good test score.

Applying to dental schools and taking the DAT is not cheap. I won't go into details, but let's just say there is a reason I've been working two full-time jobs. So when Chris applied to ten schools and I said, "I hope you only get one interview so we only have to buy one plane ticket and I hope you get in and I hope that's that," I wasn't really kidding.

The soonest schools started interviewing applicants for Fall 2009 entry was October 2008. Needless to say, it is a long process full of waiting and wondering. He got a couple rejection letters which really took the wind out of our sails. I'm not gonna lie, it hurt my feelings, and I'm not even the one who applied! We were pretty much convinced that we were going to be in Utah for at least another year. And I was fine with that. I'm happy in Provo. I love my jobs, I love my apartment, I love being close to both sets of my grandparents, one of Chris' brothers lives just down the street with our nephew and neice and another nephew cookin', my brother is coming back to BYU this fall, Chris's youngest brother is starting his first semester at BYU this fall, so on and so forth. P-Town is great!

For his Christmas present in 2008, Chris' parents gave him a coupon for one free flight to a dental school interview of his choice. We sort of laughed about it because we were kind of disheartened even though we had yet to hear back from a few schools.

We kept waiting. Patience is a virtue you know.

In early January 2009, a much-welcomed surprise came in the form of an email. It was an invitation from USC for Chris to come interview on January 29th. He quickly booked a flight using his Christmas coupon (thank you thank you thank you Tom and Margi!). It's funny because I was driving back FROM California after attending CHA at the exact same time Chris was flying TO California for the interview. We just missed each other.

Once in LA, Chris was picked up by one of his Colorado buddies who is a first year dental student at USC (small world!); his friend also drove him around and let him stay at his place for the night, which we appreciate very much.

The interview went great. It also didn't hurt that my Grandma Cathie's best friend's brother is a professor and dentist at USC. He graciously showed Chris around after the interview. The pool of interviewees said to expect to hear back at the earliest at the end of February.

And so we waited. Waiting is trendy in this process.

On the morning of Friday February 27th Chris got this email:

Good Afternoon,

I would like to take this opportunity to inform you that you've been accepted to the University of Southern California, School of Dentistry for the Class of 2013. Let me be among the first to congratulate you on this achievement!

Our lives changed forever in that one email. In a good way. It's nice to know our future plans. Chris rescinded his application from the remaining schools since USC was a perfect option for us and now walks around with a permanent smile on his face.

Times They Are Most Definitely A-Changin'

The End.