It's That Time Again...

...when people travel hundreds of miles. Spend hundreds of dollars. See hundreds of people.

Individuals have written hundreds of pages of papers to get to this day. They have read hundreds of pages of hundreds of dollars worth of textbooks. They have attended hundreds of days worth of classes to see this day.

It's that time again...for graduation.

Some graduate from their high school. That is quite the day! A day you feel, at the time, will be one of your most achieved moments! A day you feel you will never forget. A day surrounded with all your friends you feel you will never lose touch with. High school graduation is a grand time.

But some move on to more school. Some attempt a four-year program. Some find the program to fit them, while others decide to leave it behind. Some look back on their high school graduation from four years earlier and think, "My how times have changed. My how I have changed." For some it is just four years of time. For some it might be a year or two more. Whatever the case, college graduation is something special...

It puts you among some of the most educated in the WORLD. Having a bachelors degree is quite the accomplishment! Not only is it a sign of achievement and dedication, but it is a sign of character. It is a sign of willingness to pursue a goal one has set for him/herself and to obtain the prize!

Some choose to keep going. Some find their first bachelors to be just the beginning. Graduate school can be a world of it's own. Graduate school is a place of uniting the "continuing" with the "returning" students. Though undergraduate seemed to be a group of peers, graduate school can be a place of sitting among people who could have been your parent or your child. Graduate school offers more of the "real world" scenario in that you will learn to interact with people of all ages. Possibly people of all sorts of disciplines. People of all sorts of educational levels--some getting a second masters. Some already having a doctorate and wanting to pursue a different discipline for the next stage of their life. Graduate school can be a whole different world of "school."

Depending on the graduate program, graduation can come in a year, two, two and a half, three, etc. But, if one should make it to that graduation, they join a new group. An even smaller group of educated individuals in the world. While the degree itself brings immense joy to the recipient, the graduation day itself is sometimes not viewed in the same light as undergrad. Many times graduates of graduate degrees choose not to “walk” for one reason or another. I was sitting and listening to a fellow student just the other day talking about how she was not sure if she would “walk” or not.

“Walking” or not, graduation is a time to feel proud of one’s accomplishments. A time to appreciate the dedication one has had to their studies and to relish in the knowledge he/she has gained through the experience; both in and out of the classroom.

I am proud to say congratulations to my many friends who are graduating in the next few days. Some with a bachelors, some with a masters. Whichever the case, well done my dear friends! You have accomplished great things! You have made your family and friends proud—be proud of yourself!

Go into the world and share with others what you have learned, as we can all use some enlightenment in our lives!