CALLING ALL DI APPLICANTS: It WILL All Be OK.

Anxiously awaiting mid-day tomorrow to learn the results of the dietetic internship match, we applicants are likely in agony. Each of us has been anticipating this day since we clicked “submit” for our final application on February 15. Or, if you are like me, you have been waiting for this day for the last three or so years.

Now is the time for us to truly take in the fact that the results of tomorrow’s match in no way reflect our competencies as future dietitians. We are all qualified, and well-rounded. To have put in the work to apply to DIs shows our dedication and our drive. Of course we are all viable competitors; if we were not, this process would not be nearly as grueling as the past 4+ months have been. The nature of this process is COMPETITIVE. With a 50% acceptance rate (when we’re lucky), we must not forget that sometimes, this path is not ours just yet. The competitive nature of the process itself should make us feel proud to be contenders.

As I have been telling my loved ones who have inquired about the rate at which my nerves are doing cartwheels in my belly/shoulders/brain/duodenum, I know I will become an RD. It is simply a matter of when. Maybe this process will take off like a speeding bullet tomorrow. Or maybe tomorrow will be the start of a longer, but equally fulfilling (perhaps more so) path.

No matter what happens tomorrow when we read our crassly delivered results off of D&D Digital, I think one thing is so important to remember: Match, or no match, we will ALL BE FINE. Some will be matched, many will not, but one thing is certain: WE, as people, are OK, and will continue to be GREAT. Moping, crying, and racing, unpleasant thoughts may occur—allow yourself these thoughts. Accept what becomes your reality, and move on. Don’t give up hope, just know that right now, for whatever reason gives you comfort, you are just meant to be somewhere else.

What will happen will happen, and we will ALL BE FINE. Que sera, sera.