The Graduate

I'm through. After twenty whole years of schooling, I've finally reached the end. It's a good feeling, although frankly, I don't feel much. I suspect this lack of emotion is a combination of 1) Only having class on Mondays and Wednesdays this past semester; 2) Having been completely done with class for three weeks; 3) Having two empty months before me as I prepare for the bar exam; and 4) Not having a job yet. In other words, my life right now, and for the next couple of months, won't be much different than it's been the last few. In fact, given the lack of an internship, I'll be more free.

But at the same time, it's definitely the end of an era. I have been in school since the age of six; three if you count preschool. For as long as I can remember, my life has revolved around school for nine months a year. I don't know another life. College was just high school away from home; law school was just college with more reading. Now I'm facing a radically different lifestyle, one that won't shift every four months, and which also won't let me sleep until 9 am, and probably not until even 8. That is, once I actually have a job. Part of me feels like I should be experiencing more stress than I am. But another part of me is willing to believe that things will work out for the best in the end, and I should just be patient. So I'm taking it pretty easy for now.

There is one thing I can say that I particularly like about graduating at this time. When I'm older and refer to my graduation from the UGA Law School, I can say that I'm a member of the Class of Ought-Four. It has a nice early-twentieth-century ring to it.