september calm - for veritas and utilitas

I guess the inspiration to write these words comes out of the wake of Paige's Toronto exodus on her way back to London for her fourth year at Western. That combined with my driving Francisco home last night laden with farewell parting gifts (emphasis on party) that he got from his workers, starts to bring out the odd feeling that not preparing for some form of school brings about in a new graduate begin a working career.

My father called me the other day and asked how that felt, if there was a miss, a sadness or what have you to not being able to go back to that which I was so addicted to for the past four years. Oddly enough, I thought to myself, searched for sorrow and was left empty handed, with only an odd sense of relief and comfort in where I am at and at what stage I now have to present myself in life.

I saw my step sister studying last night and I almost couldnt help but laugh at her. I felt bad, not because she was studying, not because she is going to teachers college in Buffalo (which certainly could justify mockery) but because I saw the ball of stress that weighted down her backside. The nicest thing about being done is that any veil of stress that the educational world puts on its oh so important deadlines, test dates, and exam periods, will never exist for me again. Not that it ever really did exist, but at least the 72 hour essay marathons are over.

From here on out, yes there will be stresses, but the worst thing that could happen is being fired. And in these, what appear to be the potentially most entertaining years of my life, as I accumulate dispensible income, move out on my own for real, have a car, and a geographically broad social circle I have no worry, no need to be anywhere in particular, and most fortunately no choreographed schedule as to what and where my experiences have to occur.

The aspect of University life of which I was awakened to most recently, and in turn eased my parting most comfortably was that as unique and crazy and fun and sexy and wild and happy and sad and uplifting and personally expanding that the post secondary life provides, it is a life cookie cuttered by similarity to everyone else at your school. Yes you have different opinions and happenings to detail your tale but everyones memories from Western will fall into the same geography the same frosh weeks, the same bars, the same clubs, the same buildings, the same girls, the same classes, only with different faces of friends to change to the story a tad for each.

Now I have no social dopplegangers, I am my own choices my own experiences, incredibly unique to the world at large. The greatest thing about graduating is that once and for all, despite the pressures of modern capitalist make ups you are unique and the concept of a numbered registration and assimilated experience is for the most part extinct. Yes you may have an employee number, but if you still do in 5 years you are counting your degree short and arnt where you should be.

I spent four years in an intellectual training ground playing by the rules of those who have analyzed, criticized, and improved upon the rules outside the walls of schooling. I paid 35 grand to learn how it works, and to make the moves necessary to be in control of my own unique experience....Im like Kanye baby, with less walking jesus.

posted by mr. tomas ubik @ Friday, August 26, 2005