Some Thoughts on my Education

Backstory: When Erik and I fell in love four years ago (awww...) he was already signed up for the MCAT and on track to start medical school in the fall of 2009. I, on the other hand, was planning to graduate from BYU in the summer of 2010. Because his medical degree was more important to our future livelihood than was my BA in humanities (and he'd already put all kinds of money into applying), we made the wise decision to leave BYU before I graduated. So I crammed all my hardest classes into my last few semesters, endured a tear-filled month of newly-wedded separation, and left BYU with a measly twelve credits of online classes between me and that diploma.

I figured I'd finish those credits that fall while Erik completed his first semester of medical school. Then we started realizing how poor we were, and I got a job. Then I got pregnant (intentional) and felt really, really sick (not intentional). I think I finished three credits by the end of the year. At that point, I realized that my plans had changed. I also realized that this was ok, because hey, what do you do with a BA in humanities, anyway (other than be more educated, which was my primary intention with my undergrad to start with)?

Well, it ended up taking me another two years. (And just to prove that I didn't spend those two years picking my nose, I will mention that I also held a job, had a very traumatizing birthing experience, learned to be a mom, moved three times, kept house, and had a life.) And when we returned home from Oregon in late January, this was waiting on our doorstep:

WAIT, I DID ALL THAT WORK FOR A STUPID PIECE OF PAPER!???

Well, apparently that piece of paper is important to some people, which is supposed to make it important to me... but that's another discussion altogether.

For me, the diploma is less a reward for the work I did and more a symbol of the real reward, which is the expansion of my knowledge and understanding. I really do value education, and I learned and grew a lot because of my BYU experience.

My favorite classes were of course my humanities, history, and art classes, but I also gained a much greater understanding of some of the sciences (but not math. I avoided math altogether because it is evil). Some of my greatest college epiphanies? When I realized in a sociology class that I am a feminist. When I read one of my favorite Roman authors in the original Latin. When, in a humanities capstone course, I had a moment of realization regarding just how extensively my world view is structured by my environment, and how many more options there are than had ever occurred to me. In another humanities capstone course, when my studies of the Reformation gave me an entirely different perspective on Christianity and made me realize just how important the origins of my own religion are. When a history class changed my perspective about my role as a woman and as a mother. And when I spent four months in Jerusalem, heard the prayer call for the first time, and fell in love with the Middle East and its history. All of these, and many more, are precious experiences that I will treasure and draw upon for the rest of my life.

So where from here? Well, I've realized that I'm much more capable of keeping my home in order when I'm not also focusing on graduating. I've started to build some things for fun (I got a saw for Christmas!). While I will certainly never attain the level of cutesy craftiness that many homemakers I know manage, my house is looking more organized and homey, which I do appreciate. But despite my more full-time dedication to being a stay at home mom, I have a strong desire to continue my education, even if I don't get a piece of paper for the learning I do on my own. I've had more time to read books of my choosing, and I want to create more art. Someday... someday I want to get more formal education. I'm afraid the hardest part will be choosing what to pursue first... my humanities undergrad made me realize just how many subjects I am passionate about! But in the meantime, I'll be doing my best to keep an open mind and study the things I love in greater depth. Thanks, BYU, for teaching me to love my education.

Oh yeah, and thanks for the stupid piece of paper, too.