In a way, it's unbelievable that it's already here. In another way, when I do the math, I realize this is my sixth semester as a PSU student, and so, well, YEAH, it should be my last fall semester. I didn't intend for this to be a lifetime thing.
But I LOVE the classroom. I love learning. I didn't always, which is why I'm just now finishing my graduate degree, at age 38. I appreciate it now, however. Part of it is that I'm paying for this education myself, out of pocket, as I go. Part of it is that I just...CARE now, in a way that I certainly didn't before.
Regardless, here I am. And it's a little bittersweet. Everything today looks a little rosier, a little more polished, and pretty, and magical, than it normally would. This time next year, I won't be making the 40-mile commute to campus. Though I would love to return as a professor, I haven't made the decision to pursue my doctorate. My husband and I have a different plan, one in which I travel with him so that we can actually spend time together as a married couple. Also, the light of my life, my son, will be a senior in high school next year, and I don't want to start a new project and miss the last nine months of the best 18 years of my life.
So, this is it. And it's enough. I made goals for myself when I was sick, and this degree is the final goal. Not, like, an I-can-die-now final goal, but the final goal that would require real work on my part.
It's a little sad that this is the last year working in Career Services.
It's a little sad that this is the last class I will take taught by Dr. Arbuckle, who is an amazing person.
It's a little sad that this is the last semester I will take a class in 309 Grubbs Hall, the staple classroom of my college career here.
Life goes on, and all things must end, and I've been through enough phases of life to know that I'll keep truckin' without pause, because I tend to leave things behind a little too easily. But in this time leading up to that end, I reserve the right to be stupidly nostalgic.
Also, have you read my article? Because you should. And then read other articles on the site, because it's great, and there is something there that will resonate with you. I guarantee it.
http://tinybuddha.com/blog/the-time-to-act-is-now-get-out-there-and-seize-the-moment/
And here's a nice picture for you. Of food, because it's me.
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