Winning Two Jackpots

In the fall of 2017 I began work on my grad project, a novel titled The Human Library. On April 19, I delivered copies to the three members of my graduate committee. Two weeks later on May 4, I returned to the University of Oklahoma to defend my work.

I spent those two weeks preparing. I wrote an outline of my novel. I made lists of all my characters. I noted every problem with my novel, and came up with ways to improve it. I went through the hundreds of handouts I’ve received and notes I’d taken over the past two years and re-read them all. I even googled “how to prepare for your graduate defense,” with mixed results.

Last Friday at 10 a.m., I entered a conference room. My heart was racing. There’s only so prepared a person can be for an unknown process. I knew the members of my committee would be asking me questions, and assumed everything about my novel and everything from the program would be in play. I also expected pressure — it’s called a “defense” after all, not a “friendly discussion.”

I took a seat at the head of a v-shaped conference room table. The door behind me was shut and locked, and the defense process began.

I won’t share the details of what happened in that room, only to say that questions were asked and answers were given. Suffice it to say that all the members of my committee had read my novel and knew it well. Parts of it, they knew better than I did.

Two hours later, the committee voted, and I passed. I passed! Handshakes and kudos were exchanged, photographs were taken, and a hard copy of my novel was deposited in the Gaylord library, where it will remain forever.

Once the paperwork settled, I had an hour to kill before my next appointment so I drove down the street to Riverwind and sat down in front of a quarter slot machine to relax. Five minutes later, this happened:

By the time the machine was done counting, I had won $1,550 (6,200 quarters). I couldn’t believe it! This is, without a doubt, more money than I have ever won in casinos, combined. I have certainly never won enough for an employee to take my license and personally hand me a 1099 tax form before getting paid, but that’s what happened.

Susan asked me what it felt like to hit a jackpot, and I realized that I had hit two in one day. The one at the casino was a fleeting one. Casino cash comes and goes. The real prize was finding OU’s Professional Writing program, enrolling, sticking with it, and graduating from it. The knowledge and experience I gained from that program was the true jackpot.