Tuesday, June 05, 2007

The Graduate....

I graduated today. I officially have alphabet soup behind my name. I've been awarded a Baccalaureate Degree in Social Sciences, Concentration Sociology. I think that makes my alphabet soup read Bsc. SOC, and as soon as I can rustle up a few bucks, I'm going to have a business card made up that reads my full name, followed by my alphabet soup. Beneath that, its going to read FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PLEASE HIRE ME, I'LL DO ANYTHING FOR MONEY. Then I'll write my phone number, and I'm sure that is guaranteed to land me the job of my dreams.

The ceremony was interesting. I think that the speeches from the Chancellor and the honorary doctorate spoke the loudest to me. The Chancellor spoke of university life and how it helps build who we are for the rest of our lives. He spoke of friends made, lessons learned and mentioned that some of us, even, faced hardships in acquiring our education. I guess this just pointed out to me how middle and upper class a higher education is. I figured that everyone there would be like me, and I was really stunned at the number of people I met whose parents paid the full shot, who never really had to wonder if three extra shifts could pay the rent in time. I'm not sure if I believe that everyone should go out and get an education: I do know that it is not possible for everyone to get one, and as such, should those of us who are priveledged enough to have done so really spend this much time patting ourselves on the back over it?

At the same time, I am proud of me: The shit that I went through during school tested every ouce of will in my being. I don't think there was a single semester that didn't start with me thinking "Will I make it through this one?"

My university experience can be summed up fairly briefly: Living in Hell, Insanity at two in the morning over schizophrenic neighbors, singing on stage, Mal's couch, copious amounts of beer, wandering aimlessly about while intoxicated at all hours, studying my ass off at the last minute, Red Bull from four in the morning until my paper was due at six. Then there was the tequila, the Southern Comfort, the glorious combination of vodka, Triple Sec, and Cranberry juice; the doctor who tried to kill me, and the thirty six prescription pill bottles lining the bathroom cabinet. There was screaming out in laughter over Borat after a few bottles of wine, there was the infestation of ants, there was the decomposing food particles left behind by NOT ME, Coperni-Kitty and her howling, and the full cart of empties that I had to drive through the downtown core of my city the weekend before I moved.

I'm done. Really, truly, forever, done. The ceremony was nice, my parents and grandmothers were there to see me cross the stage, and I didn't trip over my heels and land on my face in front of that cute boy who sat beside me during the whole ordeal. I'm much poorer now than I was when I started, but I'm glad I started and even gladder (is that even a word? You'd think someone with a university degree would know such a thing) that I finished.

Sincerely,
Toonses, Bsc. Soc

[Convocation, Sociology, Bachelor's Degree, Graduation Ceremony, Cosmopolitans, Too Much Beer, Achievements, The Graduate]

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1 Comments:

Blogger Smilin Tweety said...

Congrats girl!

7:56 a.m.  

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