This morning I turned in the last piece of homework I will ever have. I submitted my final research project: my master’s thesis.There was no parade, no trumpets or cymbals to herald my victory. No “three cheers!” to mark the completion of my efforts. Just the simple knowledge that I have finally finished.
They won't hand me my diploma until later this month, but the reality is that today marks the end of my years of formal education. Added up, 18 years of teachers, classrooms, professors, projects, presentations, and dreaded papers. Over. When I think back on the memories of school, what stick out most are not the facts I learned or the books I read, but what I recall are all the relationships I made and the fun I had when I wasn’t studying in the library alone.
School offers us just that, the opportunity to find new experiences that we wouldn’t have otherwise discovered.
Because of a middle-school French-class trip to nearby Québec, I learned that my friend Emma would always find ways to get us into the most fun kind of trouble, and that I love all things maple-syrup related. Because of reading I Will Try during library hour in elementary school, I have made it my mission to travel across Africa (although not exactly the way the author did, when he decided to walk from Malawi towards America for his education). And because of spending countless hours at the local pub after economics class, I have learned that while philosophical entanglements often leave one feeling unfulfilled, beer and good company always leave one in better spirits. We would spend hours there, after Economics Development class, after History of Economic Philosophy class, after Statistics class: my peers and I, in time spent not studying, but taking what we learned in lecture and talking about it, openly, with opinions, with our own theories and smart colleagues to bounce ideas off of.
These are the friends, memories, and happy learning experiences I will grow from for the rest of my life. Even if, heaven forbid, I forget how to use the econometrics regression equation to find the unknown parameters to formulate the average expected outcome of an observed condition. (Not that I hope to ever forget my mathematical training!) My experiences remind me, looking back, that learning happens throughout life. One has only to put oneself in situations that allow for unexpected, exciting opportunities to arise.
Though my years of formal education might be complete, they leave me with the knowledge that power lies in asking questions, and life is a learning curve that I will always be trying to bend. I may be out of the classroom, but I will forever be a student.
Do you have favorite memories, or wisdom to share about your education experience? Leave a comment below!
Nice going, Abigail! Congrats! Dare I ask: PhD?
Don't stop now! Check out the Trump Entrepreneur Initiative: http://www.trumpinitiative.com/
They will teach you how to make huge, huge piles of money like you never even dreamed possible!!!
Yeah! The lifelong experience .. the memories happy or sad may that be that you've shared with the friends you've come to pick up during your school years ... the escapades .. the fun and laughter .. those are the ones that are unforgettable. And not the Periodic table.
Congratulations! It seems like a very long haul, but you have the rest of your life ahead of you to share different kinds of moments and experiences. Keep sharing. Good luck on what was mentioned in the first comment.