Looks Like I've Made It

As of Thursday August 11th, 2011, around 2:00pm

I have finished the very last assignment I will ever do,

the very last paper I will write,

the very last course I will ever evaluate...

And you know what?

It's been a week,

and it still doesn't feel real.



I was, in fact, a little moody on my last day of my undergrad. I thought, well, now what? 4 years, some-odd thousand dollars, and 120 credits later--what have I really gained?

Perhaps my apprehensive attitude about finally finishing school stems from the looks I get from people who ask what my major is.

English with an emphasis in Creative Writing isn't a degree people hear too often.

What's your major? English, huh? So... what are you going to do?

And I always stumbled over my response.

Um, I'm not sure yet.

Are you going to get a new job?

Probably not right now.

Will you write books?

Sure, maybe.

Do you want to write for a magazine?

Um, that would be fun.

Children's books--you could write children's books!

Thanks, that's a good idea.

And I always felt embarrassed, and out-of-place, and a little like I had just wasted the last four years of my life on a worthless degree. But I thought I'd better be proud of myself, at the very least. It was an expensive four years, it was exciting, new, full of adventure, and I definitely grew a lot.

If I were given the chance to do it all over again, I would.

So I guess the next time someone asks me what I'm going to do with a degree in creative writing, I'll tell them:

-I am going to make more informed parenting decisions.

-I am going to be more aware of different cultures and religions.

-I am going to more easily understand what influences a person's behavior.

-I am going to be more patient.

-I am going to use better grammer, and a larger vocabulary.

-I am going to recognize others' opinions and be able to determine for myself whether or not I agree.

-I am also going to respect others' opinions, whether or not I agree.

-I am going to realize that mine is not the only or best idea out there.

-I am going to interact with others more easily and more professionally.

-I am not going to be afraid to ask for help.

-I am not going to get defensive if others do not agree with me.

-I am going to be able to admit I am wrong.

-I am going to be able to keep my cool when dealing with difficult people.

-I am going to continue writing for pleasure, and possibly look into publishing a little further down the road.

-I am going to be open-minded about the future. I'm young, I'm healthy, I've got everything I need, there's no telling where my life will take me.

Really, there's not anything I'm supposed to be doing with my degree, that's the beauty of going to school for English. I've got all the freedom in the world!

Sure, no one is thrusting job offers at me, no employer really cares that I have a degree in creative writing. But hey, it's something I never thought I would accomplish, and it's something I really love. Why shouldn't I be SO EXCITED TO BE DONE?!

I should :)

And the next time someone undermines my college education by saying that teachers try to force all their liberal ideas down students' throats, and those students accept them as fact, well, I suppose they never really had the full college experience, did they?

Getting my Bachelor's degree has been quite the journey. It was exciting, it was stressful, it was terrifying, it was the most fun ever, it totally sucked, it was confusing, it was enlightening, it was boring, it was thrilling, it was eye-opening, mind-opening, door-opening. I cried until my broken heart had nothing left, I laughed and danced and partied like I'd never grow old. I met the most interesting people, I was was friends with weirdos I never thought I'd speak to, I met the love of my life and married him. I learned to take care of myself, and I learned what it meant to take care of someone else. I learned that no one really knows how to handle life, that we're all just doing the best we know how. And that out of the 6,775,235,700 people in this world, the one you should never be concerned with is yourself.