The Educational Parade
A co-worker looked at me today and said “So.. when is your semester over?”. I laughed and replied “Two years.”
I was kidding, but it made me realize that I really am opting for the mule’s path to academic success. I’ve decided I want to be done with the rest of my BS and also my MA in two years, which seems completely ridiculous, but is actually doable as long as I don’t take any breaks. I’ve got something like 17.75 classes left for my BS (a mathematical phenomenon I will never understand), which works out to about 8 semesters of accelerated classes, AKA 4 regular semesters (since Northeastern Uni is cool enough to offer accelerated online courses.) So far, so good. Then it’s on to my MA, which should be in Education, but that remains to be seen. Marion and I have been plotting GRE’s, which makes the whole finishing my undergrad seem much more real, and very close!
Even despite the grueling pace, I realized recently that I’m not unhappy with my classes or the time that I’m putting into them, not even a shred. Sure, I have some nights that only see 4 hours of sleep, and I’ve torched more than my share of midnight oil in pursuit of that mirage we call “a social life”, but at the end of the day, I’m still really happy I’m doing this, and I still feel as though I’m working towards something that is going to change my life - something that will help me change the lives of others. Ed jokes that he’s going to need a hard-hat if I take on any more classes, but for the most part I think I manage to not be completely hideous. I don’t watch much television any more, but I’m coping. It’s not like ‘Lost’ ever made much sense to begin with, so catching bits and pieces really doesn’t put me at any more of a disadvantage than watching intently while following along with LostPedia on my laptop.
I recently found out I’m even getting a little atta-girl for the work I’ve done thus far. I got a letter in the mail the other day from MCC, saying that I’d won the English Award for Outstanding Achievement. Finally, my beefy GPA pays off! I’m really quite pleased with the award. I’ve even got a spot at the honors awards banquet tomorrow night! I just hope they make some extra munchies, because I’m going to be blazing through the canapes like there was no tomorrow.
The part that keeps amusing me though, is that I wasn’t even going to attend commencement for my AA, because I didn’t want to take the vacation time away from my job to go to the weekday ceremony. But was I going to pass up getting an award after doing all the work? Hell no! Well, here’s the funny part: Now, because of the award, not only do I have to be at the Commencement, but also at the rehearsal - because they’re going to make me sit on stage like a monkey in a board and robe for a few hours apparently?
So, my day off just became a day-and-a-half. So much for conservation of vacation time! I catch myself protesting this in my head, saying “I don’t have time for this! I have a family reunion to go to this year! I have a friend coming in from the UK! I can’t use 12 hours of vacation! C’mon guys! You’re killin’ me!”
But even though I’m crabbing about the stretched-thin time, it hit me that I’m still loving what I do, and I’m still pluggin’. I realize how much of a blessing that is, and how good it feels to have someone pat you on the back for it every so often. There’s something really important to be said for loving a hard life for the sake of itself. So, whatever it is that is worth the sacrifice for us, worth the late nights and tired brains and aching bodies, that is what we should commit ourselves to do, because there is a singular achievement to be found in nursing those sore muscles and foggy brains. I’m just glad I’ve found what it is for me.
