Journey to Graduation

Bravely trekking through the sludge of bureaucracy, I GRADUATED on Saturday.  B.A. International Studies, cum laude.  It wasn't always like that, though.

In high school I took concurrent enrollment anatomy and physiology, pre-calculus, American history, business, and English.  Those grades were all right, and then I went into the big leagues.  My dream had been this:

Age 21 or 22:  Graduate with a bachelor's degree in science

22-23.5:  Serve an LDS mission, preferably to Germany

24-27:  Graduate from optometry or med school to become an optometrist or ophthalmologist

Get married somewhere in there, have some kids, and join a medical practice.

My first year on campus I did fairly well in all of my classes but chemistry.  Of course, it's hard not to do well in self-defense and basic rock-climbing.  My second year I still hadn't developed very good study habits, after easy A's in high school, and I had the worst semester of my life.  Every Tuesday night I'd go to my sleeping graveyard shift, try to do my calculus, and cry for a hour.  I failed Calculus and got a D+ in biology, and my semester GPA plummeted to 2.08.  My dream was over.  I knew I didn't want to redo the classes that I didn't understand, and that I hated, and that was the only path to a career as a dignified eye doctor.

I met with a career counselor, whose main suggestion was to pay for a bunch of personality tests.  The results came out mostly for technicians and assistants, which I didn't want to have as my big aspiration.  I was helping people with disabilities at work, so I think some of the answers I gave were based on what I was doing then, because I knew I could do it.  Occupational therapist topped the lists, based on my experiences.  Judge came up, but never lawyer.  My counselor pointed out that I have creative tendencies, and as an emotionally expressive person, I cried, explaining how I never thought I could do something like graphic design, interior design, or anything creative as a profession, because I couldn't picture anyone wanting to pay for or buy anything that I produced creatively.  I stifled that creativity, and she recommended I join the community orchestra.

After looking into occupational therapy, it sounded interesting. Requirements for the grad program at an in-state college, didn't require a specific major, as long as I got a degree.  I went through every single major offered at the university, and looked for ones I thought I'd enjoy.  Deaf Education.  Speech Education.  International Studies.  I'd taken German in high school and continued, wanting to have it as my minor.  One of the requirements for International Studies was an long-term experience abroad, as well as upper division foreign language courses.  I'd been planning to spend a summer in Germany anyway, and the other classes seemed interesting.  I found the one.

I chose classes before a major that semester, so I ended up in marriage and family relations, parenting and child guidance, and ice skating, among others.  College was finally starting to get enjoyable and interesting.  I still feel like a graceful angel on the ice.

That summer I flew to Stuttgart, Germany all by my lonesome, and took language courses.  They hosted the 2006 soccer World Cup, or Weltmeisterschaft, at the time, with displays of patriotism and excitement.  I went to a local church and participated, along with some of the other American students, in other congregational activities and classes.  I loved speaking German and seeing the culture firsthand, but admittedly, spoke a good deal of English with the other students.

I took another semester of generals back at the university, and then took a semester off of regular classes.  I continued with a few classes at the Institute of Religion, next to the university, to help me prepare for an LDS mission.  My friend, Elise guessed that I was going to Cincinnati, out of all of the places in the world, to teach the Amish.  That spring I was called to the Ohio Cincinnati Mission, which doesn't have many German speakers, but has a strong German heritage.  I didn't get to teach any Amish people, but I did see a group of Amish youth touring the infamous international food store, Jungle Jim's.  While there I didn't think much about school or future careers, but I considered Communications, because I figured having good communication skills and a degree to show it would be helpful for anything.

In the spring of 2009, I returned to the university, changed my major to communications, and then forgot.  I tried the career counselors again, who just told me to pay for the tests again.  As I hadn't gotten a job and had no money, he didn't help much.  I switched back to International Studies, since those were the classes I was taking.  For the first time, I actually read my textbooks.  I understood the material.  I still wasn't getting straight A's, but slowly my GPA raised over time.  I love the social sciences.  We covered economics, sociology, culture, management, problems around the world.  Topics in psychology, urban sociology, ancient economic history, and others would overlap and finally make sense.

I even made it into the community orchestra my counselor recommended, after two auditions, a lot of practice, and help from my friend and violin teacher, Courtney.

It took and a half more years to finish classes, tests, and other requirements.  I still don't know much about politics, and don't keep up with what's going on in the world, but I have gained some perspective.  I better understand that each side has valid points, that America isn't always the best at everything (in fact, it's better to let other countries do some of the jobs, so we can focus on the growing technologies and innovations), and that what is normal to me isn't always normal to someone else.  I've learned a little about a lot.  Most people know much more than I do, but the world and her people truly fascinate.

My plan did fall apart, but last summer I dated one of the best men on campus, who has brought great joy and excitement into my life.  I love being married.  I don't have a distinguished job lined up in the near future, with promise of a six-figure paycheck.  It's o.k.  Zak's graphic design background and encouragement has shown me that I can be creative.  I can use the knowledge and skills I've gained for my degree toward many ends.  We're even doing a Design Thinking for Innovation study abroad program in Switzerland together this summer.

And yes, because of my flaming-heckfire diligence, I finally raised my GPA my very last semester to a 3.51, cum laude.