Gemotions

The email was a slap in the face. No scholarship. No funding. Sarah reread the words, her stomach knotting momentarily, then… a surprising lightness filled her chest. She laughed, a short, sharp burst of sound that surprised even herself.

She took a deep breath, the air filling her lungs and expanding her ribs. She felt…charged. The rejection, she realized, had actually *energized* her. She strode over to the mirror, examining her reflection. Her eyes gleamed with a newfound intensity.

"Well," she said to herself, a determined smile playing on her lips, "looks like we're doing this the hard way." She immediately began brainstorming, her mind already racing with alternative solutions, her fingers flying across her keyboard, already planning the next step.