Well, that’s it. I am officially a graduate of California State University, Long Beach. I graduated today with a B.A. in liberal studies—not that I am a liberal in any way, LOL. I can officially say good-bye to essays, quizzes, exams, annoying group projects, faulty printers, textbooks, grumpy professors, and those completely uncomfortable desks. Never again will I have to attend another class or wake-up at the crack of dawn to finish a paper. Never again will I have to live in fear of totally bombing an exam. Never again will I have to be paired up with some incompetent classmate, only to end up doing their entire portion of our project. Never again will I have to feel the pressures of being a full-time college student.
Now, when I say “never”, I mean for as long as I choose not to go back to school. It is well known that many individuals end up back in school further down the road, only to pursue an entirely new career. That may happen to me someday, God only knows at this point, but for now I will bask in the glory of the fact that I am done with it all in this chapter of my life. I look forward to not stressing over homework for quite some time. I have already freaked myself out thinking, “Oh no! Do I have homework due tomorrow?! Oh… wait… I’m not in school anymore!” After I remind myself of that simple little fact, I can’t help but smile. I worked hard at this whole “college thing” for five years, and I must say that I worked my butt off sometimes. Yeah, sure, I procrastinated… a lot, on practically everything. Still, I did my best to get good grades and maintain a good GPA. I can’t help but feel a little proud of myself, like I need to pat myself on the back. Sure, I’ve stated on many occasions that college is over-rated, and I truly believe that it is in many aspects. But, you know what? I did it. I accomplished something big in my life.
I cannot take all the credit, though. If it wasn’t for the love and support of those around me, I probably would not have finished… or at least not yet. I’m thankful for my dad, helping with the finances for tuition so generously, so that I wouldn’t have to worry about paying back student loans for the rest of my life. I’m thankful for my mom and step-dad for helping me buy all the millions of textbooks I needed over the last few years, it truly helped me a lot. I’m thankful for all my friends who helped me out in any way they could, whether that meant letting me use their computer or printer (Can you believe it that I made it through 5 years of college without ever owning my own printer?), or staying up all night with me while I wrote a paper. I will never forget the time both Brittany and I had to do some major studying and/or writing, and we pulled an “all-nighter,” keeping each other awake via text messages. We managed to make it through practically the whole night, only taking a one hour nap at one point. LOL. Now THAT’S good times.
Most of all, I just want to thank God for giving me the strength to press on at those times when I, oh so badly, wanted to just give up. He showed me that there was light at the end of that long tunnel. I’m especially thankful for those times He gave me the right answers on tests that I did not study for, haha!
Nevertheless, these last five years have definitely been interesting ones. I have definitely had my ups and my downs. Not only was I tested in school, but also in other areas of my life. Some of those tests I failed so badly that I may never be able to make up for it—but I will try not to dwell on those failures. Instead, I need to focus on the good that has come out of my life and the things I have done well. So, with that said, I am proud to say that I have officially graduated as part of the CSULB Class of 2009!!
“Go Beach”! Pshhhhhh… yeah ok...
P.S. Over the course of the next couple weeks, I fully intend to sleep in at least 5 days out of the week. LOL. I deserve it.
Forever and a day
7 years ago
