I just got my rejection letter from the Creative Writing MFA program at Hunter College in New York City. I guess I don’t have to tell you now that I applied. It is one of the best programs in the country and they will not be having me this fall. Their choice, not mine. I knew going in that they only take 12 people a year. That way if they were going to do a “Men and Women of Hunter College Creative Writing MFA” calendar there would be no squabbling. When I get rejected from things like this I go straight to – “Where did you ever think you could write? What a fool to think you could get into this program. You suck. In fact you make me sick.” Or a variation of this. I did it with the Warner Brothers Writer’s Program in Los Angeles years ago. (Thin letter, not thick letter. Now it is all on line. Fewer megabytes used for rejections: “Thank you for your interest, it was more than ours. Sorry.”) In advance of the result, I tried to prep for all scenarios. Getting accepted was easy: Open email, see they want me, go “Yay!!” But getting rejected I was working for the “You know they only take 12 people and 100s apply. Make sure you do not go do the shame spiral. Just accept that that is that and you have to find another avenue for your writing. It does NOT mean you are not a good writer. It does not mean that at all. ” I think this practice paid off mostly. It is funny, however, how a huge ego is always attached to low self-esteem. “I suck” meets “Really, you got 12 pieces that were better...