That rejection email redirected you. You don’t have to love it, but you might owe it a thank-you later.

A rejection closes one route and leaves you standing somewhere you did not choose. It does not feel like direction at the time, and pretending otherwise while it is fresh is no help. Later, some turn out to have moved you somewhere better, which you can acknowledge without deciding it was all for the best.

Let yourself be properly disappointed first, for a few days if you need them. Then ask what is now possible that was not, and take one concrete step into it. You do not owe the rejection any gratitude today, just leave the door open to feeling differently a year from now.