I wrote furiously with my pen. I shuffled papers around, copying numbers, dates, letters. My handwriting started out big and first-grade-teacher perfect, but as time wore on, became more doctor-scribble illegible.

I copied my I.D., licenses, and transcripts. I printed pristine copies of my resume, cover letter, and philosophy statement. I checked the written work for accuracy and the applications for dotted “i’s” and crossed “t’s”. I noticed a typo on my statement and went into my saved document, fixed it, reprinted it, and threw away the flawed one.

I stacked them together, tapped the bottom ends on the table and slid the even-edged stack into a large manilla envelope. Three more times tapping and sliding, adding addresses and cramping my hand and I was ready to go to the Post Office.

Feeling a great sense of accomplishment, I thought to myself:
Achievement Unlocked: Application Warrior!