Anything is Possible | A Reflection on the Day of my Graduation
Today is a rather remarkable day in my life. Early this morning I received the results from my final exams and I am happy to say that I passed. (B+ average) So, it is official: I have earned my degree in Philosophy from the University of London!
While college graduation is always a day of note in one’s life, it is a particularly monumental one for me given that I never thought I would ever have this opportunity.
After high school I desperately wanted to attend college but my family had limited means and one horrible thing after another seemed to befall us, leaving college out of reach. At every turn the dream seemed an impossible one. Lacking the means to attend classes, I was determined not to allow my budget to dictate my growth. I resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn’t be able to attend university at that time but in the end realized that the knowledge I yearned for wasn’t found in the classroom but in the books studied therein. So each week for 6 years I attended the library where I carried out thorough independent studies on religion, art, history and literature. I purchased secondhand textbooks from thrift shops and book-fairs, and went in the direction my heart desired; knowing that in the end it was indeed the knowledge I wanted and not the physical diploma.
The quote from Good Will Hunting pretty much sums up my view on the matter: [Impoverished but brilliant Will is address a Harvard student] “…you dropped 150 grand on an education you could have got for a $1.50 in late charges at the public library!”
I will admit however that, even with the knowledge, I yearned for a proving-ground. Ten years after graduating high school, my circumstances improved slightly and I found myself once again chasing the dream of attending college. Like so many however, I simply couldn’t quit my job and become a student. Doing a great deal of research into distance learning I discovered the University of London’s International Programmes. This program is the original college of distance learning. The program was established in 1858 by a grant from Queen Victoria and since then has graduated countless independent thinkers including seven Noble Prize winners, among them Nelson Mandela who spent many of his 27 years of imprisonment studying through the University of London International Programmes. Other well know alumni include H. G. Wells, D.H. Lawrence and Luisa Diogo (first woman Prime Minister of Mozambique). When I found the University of London I knew this program, while difficult, was the one for me. I saved up the money, wrote a damn good essay for my entrance exam and was accepted into the Philosophy program. Studying independently throughout the year I sat my exams each spring at Yale University.
Yale University Spring 2012 Final Day of Exams
This past year I sat my last set of exams and found out this morning that I have completed my degree. As is custom in the United Kingdom, graduation is being held almost a year from the end of our studies, in March 2013. Since going to London is financially out of the question at the moment I am planning on having a small gathering at my home on the day of the graduation. The University broadcasts the ceremony live. As Chancellor of the University, Princess Ann is giving the commencement speech. I am going to serve all traditional English foods that day and gather around myself those most dear to me—those who helped me reach this long-held dream. (Most especially my mother and Andy.)
Today, as I take-in this achievement, I am left with a feeling that has eluded me for some time…the feeling that anything is possible.
Yale University Spring 2012 Final Day of Exams
