Today was a damn good day. While I was only able to have a limited number of guests, I was still able to invite my friends from all over the world thanks to things like Qik, Brightkite, Flickr, and Twitter. You can see my day as it happened on Brightkite, a couple videos of reasonable quality from the floor of the arena on Qik, and more photos like the ones above on Flickr.
Many thanks to everybody for your congratulations and well wishes — they mean so much. :)
Today is the culmination of a six-year journey which started with expectations (of graduating by 2006 with a computer science major) that were completely different from what ended up happening (graduating in late 2008 with a journalism major).
I have so many different drafts about this day in my WordPress queue, most of which may never see the light. One draft is a pseudo-inspirational look toward the future. One draft is a very detailed personal account of these last few years, with all the pain and joy and passion interlaced together; but today is not the day to rehash those things. I’m not sure when that day will be; perhaps it will be in my memoirs down the road. Either way, while time heals a lot of wounds, it’s still going to take a while before I can publicly talk about some of those struggles that ultimately molded me into who I am today.
So, for the first time in a long time, I’m at a loss for words. The timing couldn’t be worse, too, as this is my thousandth published post to this blog.
Perhaps it’s the relief of passing this milestone, which I made harder on myself to achieve but ultimately did.
Perhaps it’s the realization that just a few years ago, I was near rock-bottom, nearing financial and emotional ruin, drifting through life with no direction and a lack of passion, wondering “what next?” and “why me?”
Perhaps it’s my continued amazement at how a small epiphany during a trip to Atlanta with my dad in 2005 — a highlight of my life in and of itself — put my floundering life back on track, with renewed purpose and vigor the likes of which I had never felt before, wondering “what can I do next?” and “lucky me!”
Perhaps it’s the excitement of the possibility of what I can do with my life now that I’m degreed. Or, maybe that prospect is overwhelming me.
I’m not sure. Again, I can’t put it into words.
In the end, perhaps I’ll approach this like I have the last two years since my return to school, which I announced incredibly non-chalantly in August 2006: One day at a time.
Yes, it took a few more of those “one days” than I probably would have liked, but the end result is that much sweeter, and I wouldn’t trade what I’ve learned, both inside and outside a classroom, for anything in the world. It was worth the extra time, because I found what I love. That, folks, is what it’s all about.
To the Class of 2008, regardless of how many days are actually left in the year. :)
I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday weekend. I know I did; it was nice to relax but also get out a lot and meet up with people I haven’t seen in a while. Family time is also a big win, too.
So this is it — four more classes and my final “regular season” as an undergraduate is over. Then we move on to the exam period, and then to the Carolina First Arena for commencement, bringing to a close a six-year journey of epic proportions. Then, I look forward to a two-week hibernation in which I will do as little as possible — something I rarely get a chance to do. And in 2009, well — January 1 will be the first day of the rest of my life, as they say. I’m really looking forward to the free time I’ll have — free time I’ve never had before, ever! I’m super-excited, in case you couldn’t tell.
However, I can’t look that far ahead — got to plow through the next few weeks first. I’m hoping to resume a regular blogging and broadcasting — yes, broadcasting, Serious Business is on its way back — schedule shortly after my exams conclude in two weeks.
Admittedly, this is a cop-out blog post. I have some real meat about the merits of Internet anonymity, some thoughts on how I’ve used social media to become smarter, and a whole lot more stuff that I’m sure is deep in the recesses of my brain that are being reserved for the post-crunch period. Stay tuned…
After one of the more interesting and eventful summer “breaks” (and by “break” I mean “I’m not in class”) I’ve had in recent years, today marks the first day of the fall semester at the College of Charleston. Most notably, it’s my last semester as an undergraduate. This day’s come about two or three years later than I would have liked, but it’s here and I’m happy. Needless to say, I’m ready to be done; the proverbial light at the end of the proverbial tunnel is increasing in brightness, etc. I could throw a thousand cliches at you — and in fact, I had several queued up here — but I’ll spare you.
What a long, strange trip it’s been to get here. Over the course of the semester, I’ll probably be quite reflective here and on Twitter. These last several years certainly have altered my entire outlook and path, and thus demand the respect of documentation for at least my own records.
So with apologies to Tantric, the end begins today and goes right up to December, when I’ll walk across a stage and receive a blank piece of paper that LOOKS like a diploma (the actual thing will show up later). Until that final walk, I’m happy to have you all along for the ride, and I’m thankful to those of you who have stuck with me since I restarted this journey back in 2006. Your support — most notably the “it’s never too late to go back” pep talks — really have helped me through.
I registered this morning. With any luck, I have two semesters to go, even with my course load ratcheted back to part-time. Light at the end of the tunnel…