Who Knew I'd Be So Happy About School?!

I'm not really all that academically motivated. I mean, I enjoy school. I enjoy learning and reading and whatnot, but as far as degrees and credit is concerned, I'm not all that bothered. So, it came as a great surprise to me how ecstatic I was after my credit check yesterday.

At the University of Arizona I have received an 8 semester scholarship which adds up to about $15,000 per year with the occasional reward scholarship when I apply for something extra. I was rewarded this based on my grades in high school and my SAT and ACT (Basic University entrance exams) scores. So you could say that I do pretty well in school. However, during my college years I have become less academically motivated and the longer I am in school the less I care about how well I do in it. And perhaps this is because I now know what I'll be doing after graduation, or because, though I enjoy my degree, I realize that is will come of little use for me later in life, or so it seems at this point. Whatever the reason, school doesn't make me anxious or worry me very much, I mean yes, big exams can get under my skin, but usually I am pretty lax about exam outcomes.

It is because of this attitude regarding my academic record that I shocked myself yesterday. I am getting two degrees at the University of Arizona. One in Molecular and Cellular Biology with a minor in History, and one in Religious Studies with a minor in Chemistry (don't ask about the pairing). And you are required at least five months prior to graduation to apply for your finished degree. Yesterday I applied. No, I'm not going to finish until May of 2009, but I wanted to make sure that I was going to finish on schedule. So when I went in and found out I was only lacking in one class and I was ahead of schedule I was astonished. It has been my hope and prayer that my last semester I could simply glide into graduation without worrying about too much work. I could focus on my job and be relatively un-bothered about school, but I figured England kinda ruled that one out for me, however, yesterday I found out different. And I was so elated! But it wasn't the record that astonished me, I was pretty sure that I was only lacking in one class, but the feeling in relief.

After trying to figure out exactly why I felt so free it came to me: This Is It. I've finished. For 22 years I'll have been working toward the same goal: graduating from college. And now someone official finally said that it is finished, and it was someone whose opinion actually mattered! I have officially accomplished something valid and difficult in my life. AMAZING. Who knew?!