Class of 2008

On Friday, May 16, 2008 I graduated from Northern Arizona University - Yuma Branch Campus. It was a great feeling to have the past two years behind me! And, somehow I managed to keep my 4.o!!! So for that, I was invited to participate in the Honors Convocation, in which the candidate for an associates degree were more celebrated than us, people getting their masters. Huh? Afterwards, I participated in the graduation ceremony, which dragged on and on. In the end, I'm glad I chose to walk, but it makes for a pretty long day. On a side note - I didn't have my hood or honors cords, so I was upset about that, because I felt naked.

My unconventional family came to visit me for the weekend, and we had a really good time together. I wasn't sure if everything would turn out well, but it did. So, that made me very happy. I'm looking forward to the next time, when I get to wear a fancy gown and hood and people use a prestigious title to address me:) Hopefully, that's in five or six years, making it the Class of 2013 or 2014. Time will tell.

one step closer

I'm one step closer to finishing my lengthy college education. It has been eight years since I first enrolled at the University of Arizona, and I'm still at least four years from my ultimate goal of obtaining a doctorate. And after two long years, I'm not sure exactly how I feel about that, because my feelings change from day to day.

In Literature today, my students and I read an excerpt from the short story "Eleven." In it, Rachel, the narrator, comes to the realization that your age encompasses all of the ages experienced before it. So me being 26 years old is really me being 26, 25, 24, 23, 22...11, 10, 9...3, 2, and 1. When we live our day-to-day lives, we have moments of being any one of the given ages. And that is exactly how I feel about college. Some days I'm an extremely confidant 26 year old who knows that great things are worth the work. But on other days, I'm an insecure sixteen year old who worries that I'm not good enough, not worthy enough, to complete the highest degree.

As of now, I'm definitely going to apply to the program and, upon being accepted, begin the coursework. That's all I'm ready to think about for now, not the second year, or third, or fourth, or possibly fifth, or six, etc. I know that everything happens for a reason, and I will get my doctorate if and when I do. (I'm not sure what age was talking there, maybe my 20 year old self.)

Finals

I just finished my last final of this semester. Days like today make me wonder why exactly I'm hell-bent on getting a doctorate. On Facebook, one of my friends posted about her last final EVER, and I wondered to myself when I would take my last final EVER...who knows?!?