I wrote this after my college graduation in May 2007 and put it in with my thank-you notes. I have been blessed with a wonderful, supportive family and many terrific friends who saw me through this long journey and cheered me on. I will be forever grateful to and for each of them!
I learned that I can sleep for 2 ½ hours sitting up with the textbook propped on my lap.
I learned that if you sleep for 2 ½ hours sitting up with the textbook propped on your lap, you’ll wake up with a stiff neck and the worst headache of your life.
I learned that if you sleep with a laptop on your lap while wearing a sarong, the laptop gets hot enough to burn you through the thin fabric.
I learned that if you sleep in the car between classes, wedged sideways between the seat and the steering wheel… (see #2 above)
I learned that I can function for days on an average of 5 hours of sleep each night – some nights more, some less.
I learned that, while normal people may have “interesting” fantasies, college students fantasize about sleeping.
I learned that I can do algebra, and do it well, and even enjoy it!
I learned that when my best friend Wanda gets run over by a steam roller and I have a stroke, so they transplant her perfectly good brain into my perfectly good body, her parents are the ones stuck with the tuition bill (if you get caught in the Lockean circle). However, Aristotle might disagree.
I learned that Plato was a very wacky guy who lived thousands of years ago, and I will never forget that because I paid good money (and a lot of it) to learn that. I'm not sure why.
I learned (from WWI poetry) that Vietnam vets are not the only ones who got PTSD. I also learned that soldiers on both sides are normal people who have nothing against each other, they’re just pawns in the big chess game of politics. (Christmas in the Trenches – if you aren’t familiar with the story, Google it!)
I learned that you can get a minor in Spanish and still struggle to speak it.
I learned that the way Jesus taught is now part of the “constructivist theory of education.” Go figure – he showed us how to teach, too.
I learned that I have been blessed immensely with the best friends anyone could ask for – my cheering squad. Without friends and family believing in me this would have been an overwhelming undertaking. You kept me going. Thank you.