Yesss!! - and thank you to so many people!
It seems like I've spent the last fiteen years trying to get to this point:
As of yesterday at 6:15 pm I have an accredited Masters degree (a a "Lizentiat" to be precise) from a recognized university, and I'm starting my doctorate as of this morning.
To be honest, I can hardly believe it. I'm almost waiting for someone to show up a tell me it's all a funny joke, and of course they're never going to let me consider myself an real academic - I'm a fake and they've known it all along.
But until they do, this is real. It's been a long journey. IT goes right back to the day when I was standing there with my ACT results in the 98 percentile and my father (a baptist pastor in Sicily Italy) was telling me he would never allow me study philosophy and literature at a conservative Christian liberal arts school in the US - he figured if I went to a place like that I might loose my faith and turn into a homosexual. (Poor Dad. If he only knew that was drooling over the possibility of getting my arms around a real, live GIRL.) That day I cried for hours; but there was nothing I could do.
That's was over 15 years ago, and I've been through some pretty desolate wastelands to get here, but here I am. Seems like everyone else had a real degree ten years ago - but that's OK. Late's a hell of a lot better than never, and I think I know how to appreciate what I've got better than if life had been different. Not to mention that the people I met along the way. Especially the Potterverse people. I don't think I could have made it without you guys. HPfGU happened to me at a time when I'd just about given up on using my brain. You guys hot wired me. Thanks!
As of yesterday at 6:15 pm I have an accredited Masters degree (a a "Lizentiat" to be precise) from a recognized university, and I'm starting my doctorate as of this morning.
To be honest, I can hardly believe it. I'm almost waiting for someone to show up a tell me it's all a funny joke, and of course they're never going to let me consider myself an real academic - I'm a fake and they've known it all along.
But until they do, this is real. It's been a long journey. IT goes right back to the day when I was standing there with my ACT results in the 98 percentile and my father (a baptist pastor in Sicily Italy) was telling me he would never allow me study philosophy and literature at a conservative Christian liberal arts school in the US - he figured if I went to a place like that I might loose my faith and turn into a homosexual. (Poor Dad. If he only knew that was drooling over the possibility of getting my arms around a real, live GIRL.) That day I cried for hours; but there was nothing I could do.
That's was over 15 years ago, and I've been through some pretty desolate wastelands to get here, but here I am. Seems like everyone else had a real degree ten years ago - but that's OK. Late's a hell of a lot better than never, and I think I know how to appreciate what I've got better than if life had been different. Not to mention that the people I met along the way. Especially the Potterverse people. I don't think I could have made it without you guys. HPfGU happened to me at a time when I'd just about given up on using my brain. You guys hot wired me. Thanks!