It's not important that you fall down...

...as long as you get back up.

That's what a motivational speaker, or life coach, would say. Here's the moment when that bit of advice becomes relevant to me and this project I've set out on.

You see, I got a letter from the CSUN MFT program the other day, telling me I am an "Alternate" for the MFT program this fall.

I was NOT accepted.

That really wasn't part of the plan.

The plan was to fill do the application, get the transcripts, ask for the recommendations, complete the prerequisites, sit for the interview... and then get a letter that says "Congratulations."

And that's how everything went, up until the letter.

So now I have to re-think the rest of the plan.

According to the letter, as an alternate, I could still be invited to join the program. That could happen as late as August (for a program that begins in September). So I have four months before I have to finally conclude that I'm not attending CSUN in the Fall.

In the meantime, I have to create a contingency plan (something I probably should have done many months ago).

I see several options:

1. I sit back and hope my status changes from Alternate to Accepted.

2. I plan to re-apply for next Fall

3. I apply at a different school -- probably Pepperdine, for this Fall (yes, it's possible) or the following Spring.

Note that one option is missing: "Forget the whole thing."

That's what my life coach (if I had one) would call "not getting back up."