On Tuesday I’ll embark on my final journey at UD. My last semester. My last two classes as an undergrad. My last two classes with juvenile, flip-flop wearing, cellphone yapping, gum-chewing, slutty dressed, over-perfumed, superficial, AbercrombieZombie, Ugg-wearing, sex-starved dingbats. Will I miss that? Hell no.
I’ve been on the verge of screaming at the little brats for a long time, wanting to break their spirit by telling them their life will amount to little more than unhappy marriages, debt, and taxes.
I’ll miss UD though. Sure I’ll still be working there for a while, but I’ll miss having classes in grand buildings on a great campus. (The Library is the most grotesque building on campus, so working there is not very inspiring.) I’ll miss higher-level classes filled with students actually interested in the subject matter. I’ll miss the great professors I’ve come in contact with over the years. I’ll miss having access to a great world of opportunity. I’ll miss the bubble that being on campus can become, with its safety from the real world when you need it but access to that same world when desired.
I’ll just miss being a student in many ways, even though I haven’t been just “a student” for a long time and even though the brats make me want to yank my own eardrums out sometimes.
At the same time, I’ll be extremely happy to have accomplished something. I’ll be happy to put “college graduate” on forms and questionnaires instead of “some college, no degree.” If I have to be a statistic, I’m happier to be one more step away from “high school graduate,” because for me that was 16 years ago! I’ll be happy to be one step closer to jobs that actually interest me and will pay more than just rent and utilities! I’ll also be happy to be the one in my family who finished college! I’ll be the first of my siblings, and only third of my first cousins to finish.
I’m also happy to end the stress I’ve had for the last couple of years. Sometimes it got so bad that certain semesters are blurry and seem like dreams instead of memories. Even last semester was rather taxing, and I was so happy when it was over that I went into shut-down mode. I have not read a book, and barely can even read a newspaper right now. I’ve taken a few days off and done NOTHING except web-surfing and playing SimCity (Hmmm, speaking of… I’ve started focusing on making myself happy for a change. I even bought a bike!) And I certainly won’t miss 13-hour days on campus, or 4 hours of sleep at night. I’m just tired, and happy the work is almost over.
Graduation will still be bittersweet, of course. This would have been the year my little brother should have graduated college. My grandmother was always supportive of me being at the University, and would have seen my graduate if I’d have finished back in 1994 as I should have. My father will also not get to see me graduate, and very likely none of my family will be able to travel here for the festivities. I may not attend the ceremonies anyway, though.
Quite frankly what means more to me is the diploma, and that won’t arrive until late summer. Perhaps we’ll all just party then. Maybe I’ll drive it around the country and show it to everyone. Or maybe I’ll just post it here and let it end there? 🙂
Either way, it’s only the beginning of new journeys. As a wise young boy once said “The finish line is just the beginning of a whole new race.” Indeed.