But I Thought Cum Was a Dirty Word

I received my BS certificate yesterday. I had such a full day (rare, i know) that i didn't open the envelope until 11 p.m. First of all, the presentation was a lot prettier than i had expected. After all, this is only a state-funded university. Graduates are a dime a dozen. As i gingerly lifted the acrylic and parchment, the certificate itself took my breath away.

You see, by the end of this second round of my academic career, i had become so dismayed and disillusioned that i pretty much discredited everything and everyone, included myself. That's not a novel idea BTW, if you know me. Toward the end i was practically counting the days, much like an inmate awaiting parole. "Are you going to commencement?" Beaming twenty-year-old classmates would ask me. I'd brush it off, when what i really wanted to do was to spit.

And then there it was, the manifestation of my toil coming to fruition. A surreal vision. It never even crossed my mind I'd see my name and summa cum laude in the same sentence (well, it's not technically a sentence there.) Someone noticed I had worked very hard after all. (Well, they do have computers to keep track of grades and things.) It did not all go to waste! I became choked up. Who would've thought a piece of paper with ink on it could be so affective?

In my mind i hear my name called for me to go on stage, the announcer's voice echoing in the hall, then followed by "summa cum laude". The crowd would applaud.

Maybe i should've gone to commencement.