I know this isn't the greatest picture because my room has bad lighting and because I already put my diploma in a frame so there is glass glare, but it seemed like an appropriate post. This reminds me that on the one hand a degree really is ("just") a piece of paper. It's actually almost ironic that an institution gives you something so tangible to sum up your inexplicable learning experiences and four years of life. But maybe that's just it: each person's experience of their pursuit of a college degree is so different than the next's, so how could there be one thing that affirms the completion of something so unique for each individual? There can't be. I mean, this paper could mean that I milked my education for all it was worth, or it could mean that I barely passed! While that can be bothersome it's also liberating and invigorating to know that the person who received their diploma behind me in line received something completely different, even though it looks exactly the same.
Your college education is what you make of it and how you choose to perceive it and act on it once it's "complete." The best part of having this piece of paper is that while I did have to meet numerous requirements, I participated in crafting and engaging in my own education, so only I know what this piece of paper really means to me.
More than what I know, it's a symbol of who I've become as a student of Bethel University. Now it's my job to keep becoming.
First of all, CONGRATS! You've officially graduated! :)
ReplyDeleteSecond, thanks so much for sharing this. I loved reading your view on what a diploma means; it's so insightful. I really like how you describe that each person's diploma means something different to them. I never thought about my college degree in this way.