Graduation!

If you follow my Facebook or MySpace {and possibly a Twitter soon?}, you may have noticed my most recent update, which states the following: I purchased my graduation cap & gown today! Totally stoked about this! It seems almost surreal. I cannot believe that this moment has actually come. I have been in school my whole life; it's all I ever known. I mean starting kindergarten was just the other day, right?! My school years flashed before me eyes as I made this once-in-a-lifetime purchase. I had a mixture of emotions from: happy, excited, sad, nervous, anxious, proud, and accomplished. I am entirely, forever thankful for having this great privilege. I highly value education, and know that unfortunately many do not and will not have this privilege; I am appreciative that I did. Also, I am the first in my family to receive a college degree, and hold it a high honor to posses this position. I am thankful to my parents for continuously encouraging and reminding me throughout my life to attend college and gain an education. Oh, who am I kidding! I had no choice! Lol. College was never an option; it was a must. From as far back as I can remember, college was this afar off notion that was, without a doubt, going to happen. I was going to go college. Words cannot explain my gratitude towards my parents for this. College has been a eye-opening, extraordinary experience for me. I have gained so much more than textbook knowledge from my 5 scholarly years. I have grown as a person, gained insight from so many different perspectives, learned to be confident and comfortable in my own skin, grown in my personal faith and beliefs, and the list goes on. Although I dislike identifying myself by my education or degree {I identify myself in Christ}, it truly is an immense and significant part of who I am. It is a bit melancholy to see this grand, scholastic adventure come to a close, but joyful all the more! Years of late night studying, essay writing, and hours of lectures are routines that will not be missed! I remember the numerous all-nighters, multiple midnight cups of coffee & tea, No Doz {used with caution, of course}, and the pull-my-hair-out & quit-school-and-become-a-hooker {totally a joke I had with my mom! Haha!} moments I often had when my brain just couldn't take it anymore! Despite all my not-so-fond studying memories, I loved school. Learning is so enlightening and satisfying. And can also become addicting. I am looking into continuing and going back to school for my Masters. It's about a 95% certainty that I will. I just want some time off, give my brain time to heal, (maybe a year or two) and then go for my MBA (Masters in Business Administration). Many graduate programs require 2 years of credible work experience {along w/ the dreaded GMAT}, so I hope to gain that during my time off. Buuuttt that's too far fetched for right now! The main point is: I have my cap & gown! Yipee! :)

The big show is going down:

May 23rd at 2:30pm at Arco Arena!

Mostly everyone is invited, so I would love to have you there to share this experience with me. 

Soon-to-be-CSUS Alumni c/o 2009, 

Sarah 

{what's the deal with my obsession with hyphenated words in this post?!} Lol.