Trying not to think about it
I had a little trouble getting up at 7 this morning, so I slept in for an extra 15 minutes. I know, it’s terrible. Haha. Tomorrow I’m going to sleep in before my interview, if I can. I may be too nervous. Anyway, this morning, I talked to Kyle until he went to bed. Then I got on Oxford’s website and read their suggestions for preparation for interviews. Then I walked to the Gulbenkian (fun name) Lecture Theatre for another lecture. This one, I didn’t really understand what she was talking about so it was sort of boring, but she was British. After that, I went to Blackwell’s Bookstore and looked for a book called “Getting into Oxford and Cambridge.” I found it and read the section on interviews.
Then I went to lunch. Marshelle sat across from me so we talked a bit. She might come back to England next year during her year off before she goes to grad school. After lunch, I chatted with Ellie for a couple minutes. She said I looked like I was going to play sport because I had on sweatpants, but a nice shirt, but I guess it wasn’t a sweater or anything. Their dress is quite a different style than I am used to. I told her I was just being comfy.
Then I walked over to the social sciences library, read a bit, looked up some stuff on interview suggestions, skimmed some articles from the Economist online to get a little up to date on current events, and that’s about it. Then I walked back to Regent’s and took notes on my discussion questions. I think I’ve got a pretty good grasp of it, but I’m nervous when I don’t have a paper to turn in because it seems like I do better when I turn in a paper. I might read some more before the tutorial too.
I got done a little before dinner, so then I was thinking about the interview and worrying until I started to feel sick to my stomach. So then I e-mailed my mom to try not to think about it and write about it. It always helps me write about things, to get them off my chest. After this, the dinner bell rang so I went to eat. Ruth was just getting there too, and she gave me a little card, which was sweet. It said she would be thinking about me tomorrow and that I would be fine, just to smile and nod if I didn’t understand what they said. Dinner tasted okay, but my stomach was still a little feeling bad, so I didn’t eat much. They had leftovers of desserts from last night, which I really liked that so I got that instead of the lemon meringue pie that was the real dessert.
Then Ruth and I went up to the JCR and talked for a while, about the interview and her interview, and then about beauty contests or scholarship competitions. Then I headed back to Stanley Road. I ran into Marshelle, Rhys, and some others on their way to a pub. Rhys told me I should come drink to get ready for the interview rather than go back to Stanley Road. I said thanks but went on back. I think he always says it knowing I’ll say no, but still asks me anyway. I guess it’s considerate to invite me? When I got back I checked e-mails, made some phone calls about things that needed to be taken care of back in the States. Then my mom got back to school from errands so she called me. I talked to her for a while and we decided that I’m in a great position so I should just have a good time in the interview. Now I just need to make myself believe it.
So now I’m going to go to bed and try to get a good rest, advice from Pamela in her e-mail of advice for me. And I think she knows what she’s talking about when it comes to these things.