I can hardly believe it. Here I am looking at the schedule for my next class and realize that I have only 3 courses left. Including this week which is half way over I have 19 weeks left of school and then I’m home free. I am wondering about the commencement ceremony though. It will be in mid December in Iowa. I can drive 14 hours to get there or pay between $250 to $700 a person and fly to a major city nearby (within 2 hours of a drive) and rent a car to drive the rest of the way in. I’m thinking about just driving there, but then I’ve grown up in Louisiana and Texas my whole driving life and have never really been subjected to an Iowa snow. So road conditions are a concern. Either way I guess I’ll be doing some amount of driving though.
Or I suppose I could put on a cap and gown, head down to a local pub and attempt to set the world’s record in downed Irish car bombs in a 4 hour span with some of my closest friends in tow. But then who would want their parents to watch that? As for the pictures…
19 weeks really doesn’t feel like it is that far away. Okay I realize I have an entire summer’s worth of work still left to do, but after 7 long, long, long years of college, realizing that you only have 19 weeks left in the foreseeable future just feels so soon. I wonder if I’ll suffer that post partum depression type of thing after I finish up? I remember after my BS the first 2 weeks that I didn’t have coursework to do I was seriously so anxious that my wife almost had me put on medication. I just felt like I had to be doing something but didn’t know what. Has anyone else felt like that?
I can say one thing; this is the closest I’ve ever been to a graduation date without plans to keep going to school afterwards. I’m a little freaked out about the whole thing actually. But hey, the very day I complete my last assignment I will be ending every single email with my name and “MBA” at the end. Only for a week, but hey, I’ve got to be a little obnoxious or I just wouldn’t be being me.
I do plan on doing one thing if I do nothing else, I’m writing a book on distance education or more specifically getting a degree online. I’m planning on filling it with practical yet entertaining advice, maybe a little story here and there and even perhaps an interview or two with HR type people. Whatever it is I’m not going to try to rehash everything Dr. John Bear has written on over the years but instead try to write on things from the viewpoint of the student experience. Who knows? Either way I’m going to attempt something.