Friday, April 30, 2010

Finished!

I wrote my last final exam for my diploma today.

I will now pause to let the enormity of that sink in.

{ Pause. }

When I started my program in the fall of 2006, I thought it would be easy. 2 years, 4 semesters, badda bing badda boom, let's go.

The last four years have been life-changing. I failed out of college. I got back in. I was diagnosed with a learning disability. I moved 5 times. I met Keith. I got engaged. I said goodbye to two friends I never thought I would have to. I lost a grandmother and a mother-in-law. I raised my GPA from something like a 1.2 to meet the cut-off for Carleton, which is 3.0. And now I'm looking at WLS and all the major lifestyle changes that comes with it.

In a way, I'm kind of glad it took me 4 years to finish - I am a completely different person than that 19 year old who started and then promptly crashed & burned. I know I can fail, and I know I can pick myself up and succeed. I've learned that with great joy also comes great heartache. I've learned that life goes on after death, and it's okay to miss someone so fiercely it physically hurts, even months later.

Most of all, I've learned that setting a major goal and working hard to achieve it feels absolutely amazing when you finally do.

3 comments:

Jess said...

Yay! Congrats! You've come so far and you have so much going on in your life right now... I'm so excited for you!

Britt said...

Congratulations!! Doesn't it feel awesome??

Amy --- Just A Titch said...

Congratulations! Such a good feeling.