Learning to Fly

I've got something big and good, and I'm not going to talk about it a whole lot in case I jinx it.  I found something that I'm applying for, and if I can manage to claw my way through the competition  get it after the rigorous selection process, I might get to travel abroad some this upcoming school year in a very meaningful way.  I think I should be competitive for this program; I've been a couple of places and done some stuff.  I don't have my National Boards (damn it...there never seems to be TIME or MONEY for this), but I have degrees and awards and trips and service and leadership and all that stuff my students probably think they don't need anymore once they graduate....  Funny how it keeps turning up as long as you keep being associated with academia.  I don't know.   I'm going to take the chance because I've decided that...well...it's worth trying for.  Just trying for it, just THINKING ABOUT trying for it makes me happy.  It's about not wishing for wings anymore; it's about realizing that I've had wings the whole time.  It's about learning how to use them, learning how to fly....