Pomp and Circumstance

Well, it's official.

I'm a college graduate!

I'm not quite sure what to think of that. I've just gotten so used to being a college student. Hence my staying in Provo for the time being. But I had better find some hobbies, now that I don't have to study, because I can't watch Hulu all day.

Thursday was commencement services. We all lined up by the ASB until it was time to go up into the Marriott Center. They bestowed degrees on us; I now have a BA in English language. President Uchtdorf spoke briefly. The Samuelsons said they were "quasi-members" of the class of 2014, since they are being released. I never went to a basketball game, so I never did the "Whoosh Cecil." (In fact, at the Unforum right before finals, they did one, and I had no idea what to do.)

After commencement, I was feeling sad that I didn't have any good graduation pictures. But then I had an idea. In all my time in Provo, I had never hiked the Y. What an experience, I thought, if the first time I did so was in a cap and gown! So my roommate Jordan and a former wardie, Laura, went with me. I didn't put my cap on until I got to the top, because I didn't want it to get sweaty, but I wore the gown the whole way.

Two years ago in my semantics and pragmatics class, we learned about "the norm of civil inattention," which says that people in polite society will not talk to people they do not know, but there are a few exceptions. One exception is if a person is in an out-of-role situation. Going on a hike in a graduation gown is an obvious out-of-role situation, so I had lots of people congratulating me. And I was feeling quite happy then, because I barely hiked the Y as a student (kind of), and because I got the most creative graduation pictures of anyone I know.

The next morning, my parents came down for the College of the Humanities convocation, where I actually walked across the stage as they read my name and I got a diploma cover. I wasn't sure what to think of that meeting. The speakers seemed kind of pompous, and I'm prejudiced against English majors, which there were a lot of. They had the  graduates stand for various reasons. I stood up for saying I spoke a foreign language but sat down for speaking two, since it's been so long since I've studied Spanish. (I thought Advanced French Part 2 was good enough to count.) I was a little disappointed I didn't get any Latin words indicating my scholastic achievements--since I'm only good at academics, I'm pridefully disappointed when I'm not the best. But I don't think they mean that much--the person who got the highest honors in the college was in one of my classes and I read one of her papers, and I don't think she was much more brilliant than I am. Also, my major had relatively easy classes, and most of my non-A grades were from other colleges, including geology.

Another thing I didn't do was the Honors program. I honestly didn't do it because I was lazy, but there were other reasons as well. I think they've changed it, but when I started, the Honors program just meant you had to read a lot of books, see a lot of plays, watch a lot of movies, write a lot of papers, and write a thesis. It seemed like a lot of work for something that wouldn't really enrich my education. I think I had much more valuable experiences doing the second minor in geology. Years from now, I don't think I'll remember the books I read (or would have read), but I will remember Death Valley, Little Cottonwood Canyon, Capitol Reef, and Great Basin National Park.

I'm also glad that the editing minor provides me with practical knowledge. A lot of humanities majors have degrees that aren't particularly useful, no matter how interesting they may be--including my major. But I think my major mostly exists for the editing minor, and that's something I can use.

Now to embark on a new era of my life.