Just one year ago ...

So, it's graduation time at BYU-Idaho again. It comes around 3 times a year. But this December graduation has really got me thinking. I am back at BYU-Idaho. I've been working in the Records and Registration office for nearly 2 weeks now. It's weird but totally normal for me to be back on this campus where I spent so much time. For those of you who didn't know, I've lived in Rexburg and attended school here since September of 2000, and have only left for a couple of summers. Last December, I finally graduated. I was incredibly close to receiving multiple degrees because of all the overlapping classes I took before I got serious about my education. I got my Bachelors of Science degree in English with an emphasis in Professional Writing. I was one course away from the requirements of a Literary Studies emphasis as well. Instead of a minor, I did two clusters: one in International Studies and the other in Speech and Theater. I could have majored in wallyball or snowboarding because of all the duplicated courses I took in both of those areas! I've grown accustomed to getting a hard time from friends and family for taking so long to graduate. I have friends my age who graduated years ago and have moved on with families and careers. I even have several friends with Master's degrees, or who are attending grad school. I've always envisioned myself as somewhat of a failure in the education area. Who takes 7 years to get their Bachelors degree? And better yet ... who gets a degree and then ends up unemployed and job searching for several months afterwards? I came awfully close to working at Craigo's Pizza, and may still end up there if this BYU-Idaho job remains temporary. So, I haven't had the greatest image of myself and my accomplishments in education.
But ... I've been thinking about it a lot lately. I went to devotional last week, and Brother Bergstrom talked about the new foundations program at BYU-Idaho. He made some comment that really hit me. He said that our education is a talent that we've worked hard to develop. I thought hard about that. I've never really considered myself a very talented person. I'm not very coordinated or athletic, I can't play any musical instruments ... frankly, I'm just a waste of oxygen! But I'm an educated waste of oxygen! Many people don't have it in them to go to school. I never understood how people would want to jump into a career after college. I wanted to extend my college experience for as long as possible! I LOVE to learn! And I'm pretty good at it! I didn't get the greatest grades, but in my job as a transcript processor, I'm seeing a LOT of transcripts that are much worse than mine! Actually, when I looked up my own transcript, I felt a sense of accomplishment!
Yes, I took forever to graduate. No, I don't have a successful job to validate all of my education. But I have done something very valuable with my time here at BYU-Idaho, and I'm truly grateful for my education!