Q & A: Why is Tamsin in school again?
I know, I know, this has been on everyone's minds for the past six months. I am sure you have hardly slept! In light of this (and some degree of confusion that I've noticed regarding my current educational status), I have taken the liberty of interviewing myself on your behalf:
So, didn't you start school like nine years ago? How can you still be working on a four year degree?
Yes, it's true. My very first semester at BYU was Winter 2000. There isn't really a short answer to why I'm not done yet, but let me do my best:
I had about a year left when Nick and I got engaged at the beginning of 2005, and was planning to be done by Christmas of 2005. However, I quickly discovered that planning a wedding spanning two continents was not easy, and ended up not taking classes spring and summer as planned, which put me a semester behind. Then we discovered that I couldn't enroll for Fall semester in 2005 while I applied for permanent residency, which put me another semester behind. Rubbish.
Wait a minute, I thought you already graduated? Haven't I seen pictures of you in a cap and gown?
Yup, that's right. I actually did the whole commencement ceremony thing the week before we got married in August 2005. My parents had already planned to come out for my graduation when it was still scheduled for 2005, so I was going to walk in August and graduate in December. Seeing as they were already going to be there that August, I decided to walk anyway, having absolutely no idea that I wouldn't actually graduate until four entire years later.
So, why the three year break?
Well, for the first year I couldn't work or go to school while my residency application was being processed. My student visa was about to expire, and I couldn't apply for a new one and and permanent residency application at the same time, so I spent a year being an Orem housewife. Then, when that year was up, Nick was in grad school and we just couldn't pony up the cash for both of us to be in school, so I worked for a year as an Americorps Vista volunteer which, although they didn't pay much, was awesome. After my year of service was up, Fall semester had already started, and it was too late to reapply for Winter. Which they make you do if you've been gone for a long time. So I applied for Fall 2008 and went back.
How does college feel now after a three year break?
I'm actually really enjoying it. Having been gone for so long, I know what kind of atrophy your brain goes through when you don't challenge it every day, and so it's been nice to dust off the old gray matter again. Also, to be perfectly honest, I was pretty burned out as far as school was concerned when I left, and wasn't really enjoying the whole learning experience, so now it feels good to be back after a long break and actually feel like I want to learn again.
What's it like being the oldest undergrad ever?
At first I felt really awkward and conspicuous, like everyone could tell that I was super-old, and therefore obviously not very smart for still working on my undergrad. This feeling was probably compounded by the fact that I was taking PS 100, and therefore reminded weekly that most of the people in my class were born in 1990 or later, and didn't even know what Chernobyl was. That was horrifying. Then I noticed that most of my classes had at least one student 20 or 30 years older than me, and that definitely took the edge off. Although I still sometimes feel like they're old enough to be awesome for going back to school, and I'm just old enough to be dumb for still being there. And then of course, there has been the occasional awesome moment when someone has very sweetly assumed I was 22, which naturally warms the soul.
And are you going to finish this time? Huh? Huh? Are ya? When?
Abso-freakin-lutely. I will have three more classes to finish after this semester, and am planning to take them over Spring and Summer terms, which means I will be ever so very finished in August 2009. Only four years late.
How can you even live with yourself? I do OK. It only seems reasonable that there would be a take home lesson or two in all of this, including the fact that I am just slow, people! It took me a decade to finally learn how to drive, and six years of knowing Nick to finally go on a date with him. It only makes sense that a four year degree would take me twice as long (and then some). However, I think the main thing I have learned is that I can't plan everything, no matter how much I would like to. There are so many things in my life (and I'm sure in yours too) that haven't worked out the way I planned and wanted them to, but that I wouldn't change in retrospect. Heavens, I could have been married to a pro-wrestler and had a degree in theatre!
The past nine years have taught me a lot about about how much I value my faith. Although I have a lot of my own strength and stubbornness that keeps me going in difficult times, I know that the strength that has carried me through those difficulties has not been my own. I've had more than one small miracle in my life, and know that so many of my prayers have been answered. I've learned a lot about trusting in the Lord's timing for my life, and knowing that His plans for me are always so much better than anything I could come up with one my own.
So, didn't you start school like nine years ago? How can you still be working on a four year degree?
Yes, it's true. My very first semester at BYU was Winter 2000. There isn't really a short answer to why I'm not done yet, but let me do my best:
I had about a year left when Nick and I got engaged at the beginning of 2005, and was planning to be done by Christmas of 2005. However, I quickly discovered that planning a wedding spanning two continents was not easy, and ended up not taking classes spring and summer as planned, which put me a semester behind. Then we discovered that I couldn't enroll for Fall semester in 2005 while I applied for permanent residency, which put me another semester behind. Rubbish.
Wait a minute, I thought you already graduated? Haven't I seen pictures of you in a cap and gown?
Yup, that's right. I actually did the whole commencement ceremony thing the week before we got married in August 2005. My parents had already planned to come out for my graduation when it was still scheduled for 2005, so I was going to walk in August and graduate in December. Seeing as they were already going to be there that August, I decided to walk anyway, having absolutely no idea that I wouldn't actually graduate until four entire years later.
So, why the three year break?
Well, for the first year I couldn't work or go to school while my residency application was being processed. My student visa was about to expire, and I couldn't apply for a new one and and permanent residency application at the same time, so I spent a year being an Orem housewife. Then, when that year was up, Nick was in grad school and we just couldn't pony up the cash for both of us to be in school, so I worked for a year as an Americorps Vista volunteer which, although they didn't pay much, was awesome. After my year of service was up, Fall semester had already started, and it was too late to reapply for Winter. Which they make you do if you've been gone for a long time. So I applied for Fall 2008 and went back.
How does college feel now after a three year break?
I'm actually really enjoying it. Having been gone for so long, I know what kind of atrophy your brain goes through when you don't challenge it every day, and so it's been nice to dust off the old gray matter again. Also, to be perfectly honest, I was pretty burned out as far as school was concerned when I left, and wasn't really enjoying the whole learning experience, so now it feels good to be back after a long break and actually feel like I want to learn again.
What's it like being the oldest undergrad ever?
At first I felt really awkward and conspicuous, like everyone could tell that I was super-old, and therefore obviously not very smart for still working on my undergrad. This feeling was probably compounded by the fact that I was taking PS 100, and therefore reminded weekly that most of the people in my class were born in 1990 or later, and didn't even know what Chernobyl was. That was horrifying. Then I noticed that most of my classes had at least one student 20 or 30 years older than me, and that definitely took the edge off. Although I still sometimes feel like they're old enough to be awesome for going back to school, and I'm just old enough to be dumb for still being there. And then of course, there has been the occasional awesome moment when someone has very sweetly assumed I was 22, which naturally warms the soul.
And are you going to finish this time? Huh? Huh? Are ya? When?
Abso-freakin-lutely. I will have three more classes to finish after this semester, and am planning to take them over Spring and Summer terms, which means I will be ever so very finished in August 2009. Only four years late.
How can you even live with yourself? I do OK. It only seems reasonable that there would be a take home lesson or two in all of this, including the fact that I am just slow, people! It took me a decade to finally learn how to drive, and six years of knowing Nick to finally go on a date with him. It only makes sense that a four year degree would take me twice as long (and then some). However, I think the main thing I have learned is that I can't plan everything, no matter how much I would like to. There are so many things in my life (and I'm sure in yours too) that haven't worked out the way I planned and wanted them to, but that I wouldn't change in retrospect. Heavens, I could have been married to a pro-wrestler and had a degree in theatre!
The past nine years have taught me a lot about about how much I value my faith. Although I have a lot of my own strength and stubbornness that keeps me going in difficult times, I know that the strength that has carried me through those difficulties has not been my own. I've had more than one small miracle in my life, and know that so many of my prayers have been answered. I've learned a lot about trusting in the Lord's timing for my life, and knowing that His plans for me are always so much better than anything I could come up with one my own.