As of right now I have registered for classes for the remainder of my academic career, these classes allow me to finish my degree requirements while staying here in Los Angeles. I applied for graduation, checking off the box to say that I will walk May 2014, and gave them sizing info for a graduation gown (over a year from now, am I really going to be the same size?).
This whole process is surreal. A few months ago I was stunned to tears at the idea of this move to LA being permanent but as it’s beginning to take shape my only thoughts and feelings on the matter are gratitude. Overwhelming and thanks for all the opportunities I’ve been given and the people who’ve helped along the way. I am so blessed.
Graduating college will probably be one of the biggest milestones of my life to date. I’ve graduated from brownie to junior girl scout, graduated middle school and high school, gotten accepted to college and survived the years of school, and in some ways that’s a huge accomplishment. But it doesn’t feel like it to me.
Maybe it’s just because it’s not unexpected. I am finishing school on track and beginning the process of looking for proper work, but this whole process seems like a big hoopla over not much. Of course I was going to finish school. Of course I am looking for a job. None of this seems extraordinary to me. It’s simply the next step to get where I want to be.
When I look back on my life and marvel at my achievements I hope with a fervent passion that graduating college will not make the top five. I have hopes and dreams that go so far beyond that. When I look back on my life I want the big deal moments to be the launch date of my own series, buying a house I love, climbing literal mountains, and traveling the world. Maybe marrying the guy of my dreams or raising my own kids.
While I’m glad to be able to say I’m going to graduate college, I don’t see it as an accomplishment. I see college as a stepping stone. A small, probably necessary, step in getting to the things I truly hope to accomplish. Am I totally missing something here? Is graduating college a lot bigger of a deal than it is in my head?
What about you? Is there something that is a big deal in society, but you don’t see as a major accomplishment?
Rachel Ann 