orientation

Now that I got my acceptance letter, I logged on to the website today and listened to part of the orientation. It's so exciting. And I had a totally different reaction from some of the students last year. I was warned by them that the orientation is discouraging, because it talks about how hard it will be, and that people will end up dropping out.

I got something totally different out of the orientation. Maybe it's because I'm comparing it to my experience at NYU. I still remember the orientation lecture for my advanced degree. The head of the department gave a speech in which he said that only 1 out of 10 of us would make it through, and that it would take at least 10 years (if we did not have to spend time supporting ourselves), and that the rest of us might as well quit right now. So when Steve Robbins said that VLI will be difficult, and that we'll have to make choices, but that if we are called to this program by God, we should persevere, I thought it was amazingly encouraging. I kept contrasting the VLI approach with the NYU approach. At NYU it seemed that they were actually proud of the attrition rate. At VLI, I feel that they want us not only to complete the program but also to go on and serve the Kingdom. It's sort of like having a built-in cheering section.

But I'm frustrated that my books have not come yet. In fact, they have not even been shipped, and the expected shipping dates have been extended. I'm fantasizing that maybe 300 VLI students suddenly all placed orders for the same obscure books, and used them all up. So I checked the Columbus bookstore, which says they are in stock and ready for shipping, and I cancelled Amazon, and re-ordered from Columbus a couple of days ago.