I Owe It All to Charlie Sheen

With all of the excitement and planning invested in my move to Bulgaria I have kind of overlooked the fact that I am going to graduate in about a month with my Masters in Public Administration and a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management. Luckily I am not so absorbed that I am forgetting to do homework or write papers or, like, go to class and stuff.

When I first went to college back in 1992, however, this was sort of a problem for me. For some reason I just couldn't grasp the concept that you probably needed to show up and take actual exams in order to pass. Instead I took a strong academic interest in a campus organization and tended to hang out there quite a bit in order to broaden my educational experience. (Okay, so the president of said organization was unreasonably hot and I took great pleasure in doing lots of giggling and occasionally throwing tootsie rolls at him. C'mon. I was 17. I had not yet learned that flirting involved more than flicking my hair over my shoulder, pouting a little and dressing in low cut tops and short skirts). Somehow I made it through my freshman year by the skin of my proverbial teeth. But sophomore year was my downfall when one day, while skipping class, I was presented with the opportunity to become a paid extra in a classic film (Major League II) whereupon I decided that I... yes I... was going to be an actress. Not just any old actress. A soap opera actress.

Heh.

Needless to say I dropped out of school to pursue my burgeoning acting career. I facilitated this process... by waiting tables at TGI Friday. How my parents made it through this time with their sanity intact is both a mystery and a miracle. The acting career, of course, never materialized and after two years of wearing red and white stripes and suspenders covered in "flair", I made the fortuitous decision to go back to school. Three years later I graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work.

It took me some time to decide that I wanted an advanced degree, plus a little more navigational fine-tuning as to what, exactly, I wanted to do with my life. (And, truth be told, I'm still not sure). But once I made up my mind to do it, I embraced the idea whole-heartedly. I knew what I wanted to study and where I would go to do it. Although it has been tough at times, particularly when I was working two jobs and was literally at some place of employment or school 6 - 7 days out of the week, I can't believe it's almost over. Tonight I finished my final exam for my Capstone course and am left with one paper to tweak a bit and another to proofread... and that's it. I will be a graduate of the UCF MPA program. Wow.

During our orientation to UCF my friend (and fellow impending graduate) Garrett joked that the students would soon unite and, in "Old School" fashion, chant the mantra "Meag the Keg! Meag the Keg!" as I frolicked in the Reflecting Pond outside Millican Hall. I have thus far refrained from this shocking behavior as I am above such frivolities. After all, they simply do not befit a graduate student. No... No, I am waiting until after I graduate for that...