The
“Sweet” Life gets qualified!
Qualified for what, I am not sure... You
see, dear Reader, my first tertiary qualification is a BA Degree. I majored in
English and Visual Culture and Communication while also taking modules in
Information Science, Art History, Sociology, Psychology and Economics, among
others. One of the big jokes on campus regarding BA students is: “What’s the
difference between a BA Degree and a chicken?” and the very witty answer to
that is: “A chicken can feed a family of four”. Ha ha ha... Note the sarcastic
laugh. Us BAs shrug these comments off and laugh along with the crowd but the
truth of the matter is that they hurt! I cannot speak for other BA students and
graduates, but I am really quite petrified that I won’t find a decent,
well-paying job with my BA Degree. Especially since I just did a general degree
as opposed to a degree in which one specialises in a certain field. I suppose
that I am trying to compensate for that by doing my Honours now.
This all ties in with the story of my
first graduation ceremony because while most people are incredibly excited for
their graduation ceremonies, I was actually dreading mine. Most peoples’
parents are extremely proud of them for graduating while my Dad was probably
just grateful that I’d eventually managed to get my degree! You see, my
undergraduate studies were a rocky road that my Dad and I travelled together
for what felt like decades. I studied Consumer Science for a year and a half
before I switched to BA. I met so many wonderful people and made treasured
memories with them during my first year-and-a-half of studying but I was just
not cut out for that field of study. Naturally, my poor marks (and many failed
modules) left me feeling despondent and actually led to me falling into a pit
of depression until my darling Mom convinced my Dad to let me change my course
of study. Bless her; she may just have saved my life!
Of course, my dear ole’ Dad wasn’t
pleased with me. He’d practically wasted a year-and-a-half’s worth of tuition
money on me, and anyone who has ever studied will know that this sort of thing
doesn’t exactly come cheap! But he supported me and stood by me in my decision
and with the help of my big sister I chose a BA degree and selected my many,
many subjects. Luckily for me (and Daddy’s finances) I thrived in my new BA
environment! I loved most of my modules and my marks improved enormously and
eventually I found myself signing off the forms to confirm that I would be
attending the Autumn graduation ceremony for BA graduates.
In the weeks leading up to my graduation
ceremony I kept hearing this annoying little voice in the back of my head... It
kept repeating those stupid little BA jabs and saying things like: “Please, no
one will ever hire you...” and “You’re just a BA...” and “What a waste of four
years of studying...” My sister kept asking me if she should make a booking
somewhere nice so we could all go out for lunch to celebrate after the ceremony
and she and my Mom kept asking me what I was going to wear and while I knew
they all meant well and they were just excited for me, all I could hear was the
little voice that just kept getting louder and louder until eventually it
started shouting at the Greek a few nights before the ceremony when the dreaded
topic came up in conversation. The Greek was so supportive and tried to console
me but, needless to say, I was not particularly thrilled at being consoled by
my genius Chemical Engineer boyfriend! So, I just bottled up all my
insecurities and let them fester at the bottom of my heart until the “big” day
arrived.
I woke up on Monday 23 April 2012 with a
cramp on my tummy - nerves no doubt, and a big lump in my throat. I felt like I
might just crack at any moment and be reduced to a sobbing mess all over again.
My folks came to fetch me from the flat so that we could all drive to the venue
together. They looked so fancy, all dressed up and excited for the occasion.
None of the friends I’d made in class were graduating with me so I went to my
seat alone and waited for the ceremony to begin. It was fairly straight-forward
as far as graduation ceremonies go and because my surname begins with a “C”, I
got my degree certificate fairly early and ended up watching about two-hundred
other people get their degrees and about fifty others get their post-graduate
degrees. I think the only exciting part of the whole ceremony was when I walked
off stage and almost forgot to collect my degree certificate from the ladies
standing at the side of the hall! Can you imagine?! Then all that fuss would
have been for nothing!
The family lunch afterwards was lovely.
The food was incredible and the hugs from my proud family, especially the
cuddles from my beautiful little niece, were so special. My family wanted to
know how I felt now that I had graduated and I was honest with them about how
worried I was that it had all been a waste and that I wouldn’t ever find a job.
They couldn’t understand how I could think that it had all been a waste. My Mom
argued that no form of education is ever a waste; it’s something so valuable
that no one can ever take from you. My sister pointed out that she and her husband
both got degrees and now they are both doing incredibly well for themselves in
fields that have nothing to do with what they studied! My Dad didn’t say
anything, he just sat and listened. But I know that he felt proud of me. Knowing
that made me feel so much better about the whole situation, and seeing how my
sister’s life has turned out made me realise that everything works out as it
should and according to God’s plan for us. Perhaps it’s a little bit pointless
to focus on the future so much when I should be enjoying the present. At the
end of the day, I got my first degree and I think that’s pretty sweet!
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