How to keep sanity during waitlist purgatory

[darlinalexi]

Okay, so I am beginning to lose my mind.  I will be confident I am getting off waitlists for  a day or two, and then I will go back to being f-ing terrified.  Passing time is so difficult because while I want time to speed up so that I can hear back, I don't want it to go too quickly to where it's a few days before classes start and I still haven't hear back.    I try going online, but that doesn't help. I've tried knitting, but that brings my mind back to whether or not I will be in a cold climate in the fall. 

I'm going absolutely batty, and my friends can't stand to be around me anymore.  My boring desk job drags on, and I can't find things to do online that are non-law school related to occupy my time.  BAHH.

With June 15th deposit deadlines at both schools I'm waiting on, it is really putting me on edge.

Anyone have any thoughts on how we should all retain our relative sanity while waiting on these schools? 

Thanks for the help.

[waitlisted]

Go to work.  Work.  Read books.  And whatnot.

[Nancy Reagan]

You may not want to hear from me in this thread right now, but I can tell you that last week I was in a very dark place mentally, so I can really relate to your current mood and stress level.

This probably sounds lame, but I forced myself to do the de-stress activities that worked for me in undergrad and business.  I love to write, so I started a new manuscript.  Baking - for some reason- is relaxing for me, so I made cookies and a cake. (Nope not eating much, though!) I watched some favorite movies and I am reading a great book that I wouldn't have time to read while in school.  I am also a big fan of Tai Chi.  If you have never tried this, I highly recommend finding a "How to" DVD. It is relaxing and helps a lot with stress.

[walkaway]

Re-read the entire Harry Potter series so that you've got all the events leading up to the new one down before it comes out


Or buy the new pokemon diamond version, its a great time killer, and since its made for  8 y.o.s it brings you away from the stress of adult life. haha.

[conrad42]

Anyone have any thoughts on how we should all retain our relative sanity while waiting on these schools? 

Thanks for the help.

I feel your pain. The best advice I can offer is to assume that you are not getting accepted off of the waitlist and to learn to accept what this means, whether it is attending another school, reapplying next year, or not becoming a lawyer. I don't mean this to sound overly negative, but this is how I cope with the waiting. A WL acceptance is like winning a lottery. Don't plan on it happening, and if it does you'll be ecstatic. But if it doesn’t, nothing changes.

[darlinalexi]

bump

[BJAC]

First, I would say try to limit your time on these boards.  I think these boards are very helpful, but it is easy to become obsessed and check them 24/7, just so that you feel like you are able to check SOMETHING since you can't really check anything else to find out about your wait lists.  I was like that around April when I was hearing from the last few schools.  Maybe try to check it in the morning and at night, or even just once a day.  I think you will find yourself doing less obsessing and less stressing if you don't check the boards every 8 seconds.  Same thing goes for law school numbers.

Also, try joining a gym if you don't belong to one already.  We all know that exercise helps reduce stress, and it also gives you something else to "obsess" (in a healthy way, of course) about, since you can have fun tracking your progress. 

And maybe try writing a blog.  Sometimes when you can get your thoughts out in the form of writing, everything in your head feels less jumbled and you can actually make some sense of everything.  Even if you don't open it up for the public to read, I think it would really help.

[darlinalexi]

Thanks for your suggestions.

I think I will buy a new journal and see if it helps to write... I don't think a blog would be good for me, but a journal... yeah.

thanks....and keep them coming.

[I hate 20 dollar bills, I like 100's!!!]

Party.....Lol

[golfgirl07]

Hey darlinalexi,
I totally feel your pain, and I have just about the same numbers as you, and am waitlisted at two schools i would love to go to.  What I did was take an internship AND get a job so that I would be too tired to even think about my wait list status.  My plan is kind of working, it at least makes the days go by faster.  Also, I have found watching Scrubs makes me feel better...I have no clue why.