Graduation

This Friday will be my third time to graduate from an educational institute (didn't that sound smart?), but I've never been more excited than I am this time.

When I graduated from high school I was excited...but it was mostly because I was 18, I thought I was super cool, and my best friend, Desiree, and I were having a fun party and getting our belly buttons pierced that night (oh my). I was excited to be through with high school, but I was also a little scared and intimidated about entering into the "real world" of approaching adulthood. I was in the "what the heck am I going to do?" mode. What was my major going to be in college? (this would take me years to figure out) Was I going to like college? I wasn't exactly ready to be pushed from the nest yet.

When I graduated from college, it was bittersweet. It was time to move on, but I loved HBU. HBU was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I will always look back on those years with warm, fuzzy feelings in my heart. However, upon graduation from HBU, I was also, once again, kind of in "what the heck am I going to do?" mode. Haha. I had chosen fun liberal arts majors that translated into no obvious job opportunities.

Grad school seemed like a good answer. Kind of the sweet extension of college days - flexible schedule, time for naps, mom and dad still pay for some stuff. Oh, Lord, was I wrong, wrong, wrong (well mom and dad did pay for some stuff... :).

Now, in less than 1 week, I am graduating from graduate school. Hmm. I feel...well, we would need to sit down with a cup of coffee and a couple of free hours (maybe a whole afternoon) in order for me to explain to you how I feel. Suffice to say, I feel a mixture of extreme, overwhleming, awe-inspiring relief and joy. Not just pure joy, but the kind of joy that comes after you've gone through something very difficult - like the flu, running a marathon (like I've done that), or staying up all night (literally) to write a paper - and it's finally over. You feel good, but you also feel exhausted and like you need to rest, a lot. Recover. That's what I need to do. Recover from my grad school experience.

So, anyway, this is the countdown. Tonight I turned in (via email) my last school assigments ever. Wednesday I have one final. Thursday is graduation practice and Friday is THE DAY. Then, the Sunday after graduation (1 week from today), AJ and I are leaving for San Francisco for a whole week. Then it will be the Christmas holidays. So many fun things are ahead. The worst of grad school (and there was a lot of worst) is over. I almost can't believe it...