May 2011 Update-- Ay- oh-fee-shal

Well, I guess this makes it ay- oh-feeshal. I can finally look at my grades. 


I was waiting until I got my diploma before I checked what my final GPA was. And it came in the mail today (5/21/11). 


Sad to say, I didn't get to keep my 3.85 but graduated from grad school with 3.483. 


But I ain't complainin'-- I'll take it. After breaking it down to the very core, a masters degree is a graduate degree is a master degree.

The grade from the "fun" class I decided to take during my last semester lowered my overall GPA. But it was a challenge I wanted and willingly took head on. I could have taken an easier class but I really wanted to take a class that would not only challenge me but learn from a great teacher. 

I did.

Even though I got a 30% on my midterm which is not only failing but as my professor told me, the worst score he ever gave in the 10 years of his teaching, and even though it was totally unrelated to my degree, I really learned a lot. I figure, what good is learning if I'm only learning about something I already know? Maybe it wasn't the best decision to make but nonetheless it was a decision I chose to make. 

I guess 6 weeks of Air Force Field Training in the summer heat of Lackland Texas finally paid off--

Trainer: "I don't care what decision you make! JUST MAKE A DECISION CADET!!"

Me: Yes m'am. I meant sir, I meant-- great-- no need to tell me, I'll drop and do 'em push-ups.

After getting the 30%, I regrouped, assessed, and developed a strategy for successfully taking the final. Seeing that I got a B minus in that class makes me wonder if the teacher gave me that grade just  so he didn't have to see me again (insert smiley face here with a thumbs up and a big grin).

Honestly though, I get a chuckle every time I read "Master of Education".  I ain't a master of anything but eating deep fried southern chicken and the ever tasty and fattening southern mashed potatoes and gravy and scrumpelicious collared greens (yes, scrumpelicious is a made up word. I figured since I'm now a Master of Education, this gives me the authority and legitimacy to make up words).

I laugh at myself because I barely passed high school. I think I got a 1.98 and finally graduated with a 2.03 (or something to that effect) with the support of great teachers; passed college by a hang nail and almost didn't make it into grad school. 

But when this opportunity came up, I jumped on it. I guess that makes me an opportunist-- in a good way that is.

This is perhaps the greatest thing I am taking from pursuing an education and learning in general (both informally and formal settings)-- the excitement that occurs in the learning process and the discovery that comes along with it.

So off I go to the next stage of my life! We'll see what comes next and hopefully I am prepared enough to fully take advantage of "it" (whatever it or they may be) as I have done with the many other opportunities that have come my way. Because I for one, am very willing and able to do so.