May 6, 2013

Graduation Station

In the last ten days, two of my brothers, one of my sisters, and one of my brothers-in-law graduated from college. They're all different ages, but the timing of everybody's lives worked out that everybody finished their degrees this semester.

The most dignified graduation photo I could find of each of them.

I'm proud of each of them and excited for the bright futures they all have ahead of them. They're going out into the world to have real people jobs and everything. Weird.

But let's talk about me.

Watching these people, My People, getting College Degrees and entering the Productive American Professional Middle Class World kind of makes me want to go back to school. Though of course it's hard to know if it'd go any better than it has in the past. Based on any measure of my work ethic, the odds are fairly good that it'd be a waste of time and money. I do, however, dream of someday somehow coming into money and blowing it on school for something fun enough to be worth working my brains out. Like creative writing or costume design or neuroscience.

Until then, I'll keep working my hourly-wage job and marking "some college" when asked about my education. And despite all signs that I'm One of Them at this point, I'll keep thinking I'm better than my working-class neighbors because I read non-fiction books and use polysyllabic words sometimes. Extemporaneousness. Weltanshauungen, Rhinotillexomania. Yeah.