Gone so soon

On Wednesday this week I will go to my final grad school class and turn in my last assignment. On the following Tuesday I will walk at graduation in a robe complete with a master's hood and extra long sleeve thingys. While the act of picking up my robe suddenly filled me with pride and excitement, my dominant feelings have weirdness and sadness. Weirdness because wow...where did the two years go? Moving out to New York seemed like such a big leap in the first place, and I remember there were times during my first semester where I would zone out in class and start thinking to myself "Is this really happening? Did I really move across the country and start grad school?" And sadness because overall this program has been amazing and my classmates have been wonderful, and this school experience is all going to vanish in just a few days. Lately my zoning-out moments have led to thoughts of "I should savor this."

The strongest "I should savor this" moment came with last weekend's Symposium. It was a rousing success. We all presented very well and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. I was proud of myself (several people said that mine was the most entertaining) but I was also brimming with pride for my classmates and being part of such a great group. At my suggestion, my parents opted to come to the symposium instead of graduation-- and unless the ghost of Coco Chanel turns up to give the keynote address, there is no way graduation is going to be more interesting than that symposium. (and let's be honest, even if the ghost of Coco Chanel DID show up, neither my parents nor I speak French, so it would probably be a bit letdown anyway).

In case you are concerned with all this talk of "zoning out" in class, never fear. I do pay attention most of the time. As proof of this fact I am going to be awarded some sort of medal for academic achievement the night before graduation. A medal! Don't you think of medals as more for athletic achievement? Maybe the chain will be a string of faux pearls and the pendant will just be a picture of Karl Lagerfeld giving a thumbs-up. On the back, as a nod to the conservation aspect of my program, it will be engraved to read "Cleaning is not reversible." Even if it isn't quite that cool, I think I should wear it if I ever join another active trivia team. What better way to say "I have a lot of knowledge about something weird and specific" than a medal from fashion grad school.