Tomorrow I am going to be graduating with a Master’s degree in Architecture. That seems weird to me.
Not so much that I’m getting a degree in architecture, but more just the fact that I’m about to graduate with a Master’s degree. I guess it’s a big deal, but it doesn’t seem like it. It doesn’t seem like it’s nearly as big of a deal as it was when I graduated from Trevecca five years ago, but it probably is, right? I don’t know why I don’t feel like it’s a big deal, except to say maybe it’s not something I’ve been really striving for and looking forward to like other people have. I started three years ago, I did my assignments and learned things along the way, and now I’m graduating. A series of moments rather than a linear thing. When I started this program it was pretty likely that I’d graduate one day, and now that day is here. And I’m excited about it, but I feel like some of my classmates are more excited about it than I am, and I don’t really know why. I was accepted into the school, I did the work, and now I’m graduating. That’s the way it usually goes.
I feel like the thing to focus on at this moment is what I’ve learned and how my life has changed rather than what I’m about to do in a few hours. I learned architecture, but I also learned printmaking, got better at photography and writing, learned how to think more clearly and deeply, and solidified what I think about certain ways of doing and thinking about architecture. I think I became a better person in these last three years, which is really about all one can hope for, right? The desire is always to be a better person in every way. More creative, more knowledgeable, more human, more caring, more comfortable in one’s own skin, more complete.
Howl 