I Passed

I passed my pathology boards.

I opened the envelope minutes ago to the drum of my hurrying heart.

And there it was, in fine, elegant print, as if specifically designed for the nearsighted, the infamous and less often received than awaited "congratulations!"

Yes. Fifteen letters and a resounding exclamation mark, summing up the culmination of fourteen years of uncertainty and hard work. Fourteen years. One fifth of a lifetime doing one something more than anything else, almost instead of everything else, fighting all possible odds to finally grab it, and maybe rest like a warrior between two battles.

I grabbed it. To find out that it is no more than fifteen letters on a piece of paper on a dusty desk. No popping corks, no fireworks, no dancing divas. No nothing.

Just me.

Me, minus fourteen years of my life, and a certificate to that effect.