Ceasefire: Part II

Tomorrow is the big day. It’s the day that everything before now has been leading to. It’s the day that I’ve fought for since High School ended. Tomorrow… I graduate college.

I’ve been thinking the past few days about what my time at North Georgia College and State University has meant to me. There’s an old saying: “If I had it all to do again…” Well, I wouldn’t change anything. The choices that I made over time brought some of the most wonderful people into my life. The struggles I’ve encountered have most certainly made me stronger. I think I’m ready for the next stage in my life.

As I finished the last final exam I had to take as an undergraduate, the noise in my head seemed to stop. The Ceasefire, as I called it. The end, which had been looming so ominously on the horizon, was no longer near; the end had come, and I had strolled right past it to a new beginning. Although the official ceremony is not until tomorrow night, I was already there. I had made it. I had… survived.

I had survived the grueling semesters with 20-hour course loads. I had survived paper after paper, and of course, those papers grew longer as I progressed through the years. I had survived the worst professor I have even had the privilege of being in class with. I had survived (somewhat) standing up to the Dean of Arts & Letters before an entire class of Juniors and Seniors. I survived the wait as the final grades began trickling in.

Now, I'm ready. Tomorrow is big. Really big. So big, it's tough to comprehend. But tomorrow does not just mark the end of college. Grad school calls. Maybe I should go on and start on that doctoral thesis...