I have officially reached 'graduate status', which means, I got the cap and gown pic and my graduation certificate.
It's been a journey to remember; three years of rigorous studying; late nights, all-nighters, coffee in the morning, the afternoon and the night time, junk food 24-7, late evenings in the lab, the dreaded group work... I lived through it all, every year.
I have to admit though that third year was particularly unique because I once stayed up 24 hours and that was to get my dreaded thesis done.
University has been an amazing journey. I stayed local so I lived at home. My options of fun was quite limited but I sort of lived like a hermit anyway so it didn't matter that much... plus I was saving quite a bit of money over the years.
Would I do it again?
I am itching to go back to school again. I want to do a masters, preferably something with relation to my degree. I wanted to do a Journalism MA but I figured that I don't need to study journalism in order to do journalism. Plus I don't really know what I want to do with my life... so I figured I should study more (especially since pretty much everyone has a bachelor's these days) and hopefully I'll figure out what I really want to do.
Honestly, I don't think that I'm the type of person to stick to just one thing, I'm definitely a jane-of-all-trades so I will continue in the publishing/writing/journalism world while doing something else besides it (like live out my passion and love for science).
What was my graduation day like?
Let's just say that graduation day (particularly for women) is kind of like a preview of how you would be on your wedding day... it was stressful. I snapped at pretty much everyone around me. I thought I was going to be too late to pick up the gown.
Once I got to the university, I rushed out my cousin's car to get to the building where they had the gowns etc.
Putting on the gown was incredibly emotional but I didn't cry (imagine that I did not cry the entire day? I'm also surprised).
Fast forward to the hall; I was wearing high heels that weren't too comfortable, so a friend who was on the same course as me had her handbag and spare flats which I asked I could wear. The walk to the stage seemed like eternity so I was really thankful I chose comfort over style.
The graduants' names were called in threes, my name was obviously butchered -_____-''
I shook the hand, accepted my degree and walked back. The walk back felt like an eternity too.
Fast forward to outside; had a photo-op with friends and family. It was a wonderful and a beautiful day. Everyone was happy for me. I was overwhelmed with the amount of congratulatory messages I got, the gifts I got, the love I was showered with... it was a day to remember.
Afterwards we had dinner with invited friends and family which was also very enjoyable. I felt so much love... it was unreal.
I did everyone around me proud and most importantly I proved myself wrong. I struggled throughout third year and I genuinely believed I was not going to make it. But I made it. I made it... and I believe I can overcome some of the toughest challenges.
Here's to the future.
