I'm all done now and this is somewhat bittersweet as this has been a very VERY long journey which began in 2008. Only somewhat because I don't think I will really miss school that much. I completed my final day of classes on Dec 15 which coincidentally was the day I left for a week-long cruise to the Bahamas. I officially graduated on December 30.
"All good things must come to an end." - English Proverb
My commencement - when I actually walk across a stage - will be sometime in late May or early June. University of Maryland University College only has one commencement a year - well technically THREE, but two are on the same day - one in the AM and the other in the PM - while the other is on the next day in the morning. It is broken up by majors so I won't be walking with all those prissy drama, English, and general studies majors. Hopefully.
Graduation: where you trade the agony of writing term papers for the agony of writing resumes.
But the larger thing to explore is how I feel about completing school. As I noted in an earlier entry, I hated High School and wanted to be done with it and planned to never go back to school. Then my life's priorities changed and I found myself looking at school as a very viable option for advancing my career. Of course, in the intervening years, my family had at times suggested, begged, cajoled, and gave me orders in an attempt to get me to go back to school. I steadfastly and resolutely held my ground.
"All good things were at one time bad things." - Friedrich Nietzsche
Until my wife entered the scene with an opinion on me and my future and schooling. She asked that I seriously consider schooling as a way to get a better job. Then she gave me a deadline.
Interestingly enough, my brother, who also had not extended his educational endeavors past the High School level, had recently enrolled in online schooling. Not through any choice of his own, as I would learn later. When he was visiting one of our sisters, she had asked him to fill out some information in an online form and he complied, afterwards she announced that he was going back to school. It seems that she had enrolled him in an online school without his understanding what was really going on. Up until this point he had no full direction in his life and this helped him immensely in finding his way.
"All good things are wild and free." - Henry David Thoreau
After talking to him late one night and finding out that he was going back to school, I asked him for some more information on the whole online school thing. I stopped by his place and he showed me how it all worked. It seemed fairly easy to me and that night I made up my mind to take the plunge. My wife, interestingly enough, when told of my decision merely smiled and nodded as if somehow she knew that was going to happen, but was just waiting for me to realize it as well.
My revelation did not impress her either.
Flash forward to today, five years later. I'm all done. I am graduating Magna Cum Laude with the same exact GPA that my mother's dad earned (3.966) with a Double major (Computer Science and Information Systems Management), a Certificate of Project Management for IT Professionals, and having been inducted into two honor societies (Upsilon Pi Epsilon & Alpha Sigma Lambda.) Everyone keeps telling me that I have quite a bit to be proud about, but I'm just here still amazed that I was able to convince myself to go back to school to begin with much less complete a degree (or two).
"All good things are difficult to achieve." - Rene Descartes
Now that I'm all done with school, I need to start looking forward to the next shift in my life's direction. I need to focus on my career and my family. The capability for me to shift the focus of my life is something which I have done but a few times and it takes a little time to complete.
"All good things come to he who waits." - Proverb (Source Unknown)
So as I embark upon my next phase in life, I can't help but think of the learning over the past five years of schooling. Every interaction in each course with my classmates and professors were educational in some fashion. The opportunity I had to go back and to complete my education has really humbled me. The support and encouragement I received from my family as I progressed through my courses over the past five years has shown me I have a loving and caring family who wants me to succeed. All the hard work I put into obtaining my degree has taught me to appreciate it that much more. I am in a good place in my life and am, for the first time in a long time, really happy with the direction and speed with which my life is heading.
"These two truths are the same in weight and importance. Accept and love WHO and WHERE you are now, and all good things shall find you there." - Proverb (Source Unknown)
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