the sanest days are mad: post-bacc.

they always have to explain to ignorant and short sighted high school students why the ceremony is called "commencement" when you are commemorating the conclusion of an era of academic endeavor.

i know the ceremonies were 10 days ago, but today is really better for me.

at graduation (mostly convocation and not commencement so much) i thought about how fitting the name truly was.
we love the pagentry

we really do, my dad and i,

but that wasn't the only reason i ended up extremely grateful to allison for encouraging me to participate.

having finished school last year, the cermonies were not so pertinent to my concluded efforts as linguistics major as they were to my upcoming attempt at an english degree. the idea of a new beginning had never been so clear to me so i made some decisions about my future.

i watched as the professors excitedly awaited their students.

even i got a hearty handshake. and i resolved to get to know my professors this time around.

i listened as they described involved students and as my peers cheered each other on as i felt like an outsider and i resolved to meet my fellows in my major field of study.

i watched as the people with summa cum laude wore braided cords around their necks and i resolved to get a perfect gpa for next year.

my sister recently started her college career. she has yet to declare a major. we laughed that she should choose her major based on the color of the tassel she would wear when she graduated. it was a joke. of course it was. really, if i had done that, i would've been an engineering major. (i do feel a little jipped that they give liberal arts a white tassel, but i suppose it is a classic color that goes with anything.)

i have never wanted a master's or doctorate degree before. never. i like school. i love school. i plan to attend school for the rest of my life. but graduate degrees seem like too much work. how could i ever choose something to study? something to research? i'm a spectator. a listener.
i'm not ambitious.

i had basically decided to get the masters'. it's the only way to legitimize having two bachelor's degrees.

but as i watched everybody walking around with their fancy hoods and velvet sleeves, i made a crucial decision: i won't stop until i have a doctorate. a master's hood looks like a poser's hood. it's not really that much cooler than a bachelor's degree. and we all know that bachelors are boring.

now, i still have to decide what to get my doctorate in. i suppose i can't really escape the blue hood (i definitely don't want a green one. sorry, dad.) but i have to choose my university carefully. in all honesty, the red sleeves was kind of scary. flamboyant and interesting, but scary. harvard was a little much, but do think i want a university that will give me the poofy hat instead of that ridiculous mortar board which stayed on until it was my turn to walk down the stairs and the hat straightener had to spend a good minute with me and finally just said, don't move too much for right now.
i'll have to ask dr. matheson tuesday where he got his from (see the touching moment with my dad, above.) it was awesome. or those

purple ones (sorry it's kind of dark)

this whole thing, though, is just to tell you that i'm moving on to bigger and, if not better, at least crazier, things. so i won't be HERE everyday. maybe once a week to maintain this life and some semblance of sanity. but you will be henceforth spared my daily ruminations which will be devoted to another endeavor.

todsy is my first day of classes. wish me luck!

and for my mummy: