You work so DARN hard writing papers, reading about theories and taking midterms and finals and then... it's done. No more. You did it. Way to go! Congrats!
After I turned in my last assignment, I felt relieved... finally time to breathe! But mostly I felt a loss. What do I do now?
Oh yeah, plan a wedding!!! (Insert feeling of 'overwhelmed'.)
When I was standing in line with the other liberal arts graduates, I felt, honestly, lonely. Sure I was proud of my accomplishment, and grateful to all those who have helped me along the way. I loved that Dave was rooting for me in the crowd (and getting sunburned, poor guy), and I knew in my heart friends and family were cheering me on from afar. But I was alone in a sea of caps and gowns and I didn't know anyone. A side effect of finishing via the extended campus - online classes, yay! Where your classmates could live in Norway, and most of your learning is done in the middle of the night between work and life. It's hard to find a familiar face.
Most of the grads around me were about 25 and looked like the morning was the earliest they've woken up for the past four years. They spoke loudly (yes, we can all hear you) about how they have no job prospects. I couldn't help but judge: you spend four years doing the minimum, what do you expect? Bad job market or not, the conclusion seems to be if you can't get a job, go to grad school. I hope they figure out what they want to do before they invest more of their parent's money on education.
Me? More school? No thank you, not now! I felt blessed that I got to graduate employed, engaged, and happy. Perhaps everyone should take a five year hiatus in the middle of their senior year? I did learn a lot in the past two years of finishing up... a lot about sociology, of course, and how to balance a lot of things at the same time. With the exception of Statistics and an evil Computer Science class, I got all A's my last two years... a vast difference with how I left OSU Spring 2003. One of the most important lessons I learned: don't be afraid to ask for help.
I look forward to making and working towards new goals. New projects. New adventures. And fun things like reading books, writing with some consistency, visiting with friends and cooking classes. I look forward to getting married and learning how to live with a man (and all the fun things that come with being married... *giggle*)
I won't be bored.
Oh, and to answer the frequently asked question: I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Studies with a Sociology minor. Basically, I studied what I wanted, to do what I wanted: work in ministry and help people.
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