Le Fin, Le Commencement

It is over. It it just beginning.

This is the sentiment I feel now having officially graduated with my MLIS. Four years, fifteen classes, hundreds of readings, and about a bajillion pages of writing later, I'm done. The computer problems--wireless/Internet disconnects, computer crashes, and lost work--are no longer the dire threats to my academic and professional future they have been. The nervous breakdowns, the feeling that it's just all too much, and the sessions of crying on Scooter's shoulder are over (or at least my academics will no longer be the cause of them). The need to juggle work and school like a professional entertainer is no more. No more late nights, no more logging on to my course site every day, no more stressing over grades. I don't ever have to write another paper if I don't want to. How liberating that thought is! I have gained not only my MLIS but my ability to pursue the little pleasures of life once again. Having to sacrifice pleasure reading for class lectures and assigned articles is a thing of the past. My time (outside of work) is my own again, and it's a strange freedom.

And while my academic program is indeed over, my professional career is still in its youth. I have been a librarian for the past 4 1/2 years, and considered myself a "professional" long before the completion of my degree. But the MLIS is an acknowledgement of my skills and adds a validity to what I've done and continue to do. With the degree, new doors have opened and new opportunities have now become possible. So while the degree marks the end of my academic career, my professional one is in essence just beginning. And will hopefully blossom, as I'm praying it will in the near future.

One thing that multiple people have asked me is "Will you pursue another degree or a doctorate?" Well, even though I know Mom would love to be able to brag about another doctor in the family (Dad and sister have a PhD), the answer to that question is a resounding "NO!" I intend to be a life-long learner, but I am content with the single Master's. School is draining; doubly so when you are an adult with a full-time job and an active life. I don't see myself going back to school anytime soon, if ever. This was the first degree I pursued on my own and for myself. I think it is my last. Besides, I have that wonderful taste of freedom. And the memory of being a student and not having that is too fresh to want to go back. I have a serious case of post-senioritis.

And so I'll just enjoy life for a bit. Maybe in a few decades I'll be ready to go back.