Graduation Day

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Today I should be at my Big State University walking at graduation.  As you know, though, I thought I was going to have hip replacement surgery so I did not get my cap and gown as I did not plan to walk.

Am I upset about it? Maybe a smidge.  Originally I did plan on walking, but my hip decided to not play nice.  The last time I walked was for my BA, which was over 25 years ago.

My BA graduation at Small State University was...well...interesting.

I was overjoyed to find out that Robert Jay Lifton was going to be our commencement speaker.  He was a famous historian and I read a number of his books.  However, I should have known this may not have been a Good Thing.  You see, he mainly wrote about serious tragedies in modern history, like  the Holocaust and Hiroshima.  His most recent book at the time of my graduation was The Genocidal Mentality: Nazi Holocaust and Nuclear Threat.  Of course, he brought these so pleasant topics into his speech.  I get his point: we need to avoid repeating history, especially our mistakes.  However, this was not something you want to hear at your graduation as it was quite depressing.

Well, I thought, at least it was a gorgeous day outside.  It was sunny without a cloud in the sky, which made it perfect for our outside graduation.  It was a bit warm, but hey, it wasn't raining, right?  Yeah, no.  Imagine sitting outside in that wearing all black and the temperatures rising into the upper 80s.  About halfway through, we were all praying for rain (or at least a cloud or two).  My friends and I were all roasting by the time the whole thing was over.

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Part of this is the reason why I did not walk for my first MA at Different Big State University.  Plus, I was disgusted with the program I had been in—very long story—so I really did not want to have anything to do with it. I was just amazed I finished that one as it took me five years, the maximum time allowed.  That program was so bad it completely turned me off to grad school, but that's a story for another day.

My second MA from Other Big State University was through their online program.  It was the exact same program as the on-campus one, just the classes were delivered online instead.  The big problem was that it was a distance away, so going really wasn't an option.  I had wanted to go too since I really enjoyed that program.

So once again, I am not walking in my graduation.  Bah.  I was going to paint my cap something fun too.  Maybe something like this:

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