Hard Work: Validated .

Tonight in my email inbox I received an email from AUD.UCLA (that's the Department of Architecture and Urban Design at University of California Los Angeles). I didn't expect it in the least, but it was the first response from a graduate school -- and I got in! There is nothing that will make you feel better than some sort of validation for all the hours you spent writing essays, polishing your résumé, and nitpicking for weeks over your portfolio. It definitely made my night by far. One response down, four to go! It's nice knowing that worst case scenario, even if I don't get into any other school, I still have a place to go.