The end of the year; the closing of a decade...

So much has happened since I posted last, I really am struggling with where to begin. The past month has been very eventful. I suppose I should start with what I have been blogging about the most in the past year, so I will begin with school.

School has ended. Haha, yeah right, you weren't getting off that easy.

After passing the PPR portion of my certification, I took the content area exam. It was the single hardest exam I have ever laid my eyes on. After the first ten questions I felt like that if someone had drawn a cartoon of me at that moment, they would have drawn a chimpanzee banging on a keyboard in a cubicle. I studied a great deal, not to mention the several years of history courses in college, but this exam covered history from the beginning to now. As in "life began between the Tigris and the Euphrates" to "the war on terrorism and GW Bush." I left the testing center honestly feeling that I had completely failed and would have to take the exam again. But, that wasn't the case! I passed and did fairly well. I was beyond pleased! So now I am fully certified! I am only awaiting the confirmation of the university so that I can receive my actual paper certification. Which, by the way, costs just as much as one of the exams. But that's a rant for another day.

School has dominated my life for quite sometime now, and by extension this blog, but now I am finished! I graduated December 19 at 10:00 AM. The ceremony was long and boring, the speaker really had no point in his speech but even if he had, the graduates would have not heard it. The speaker system was aimed at the audience, not the graduates so we just heard muffled "wah-wahs" a la Charlie Brown. Walking across the stage was the absolute best part of the whole day. I got so see my parents right before I went up on the stage because the handicapped seating was located by the ramp. My mom was only slightly embarrassing - and really more cute than anything - because she literally got up to jump up and down. And when I walked, the vice-president of the university got out of his seat and ran to the other side of the stage so he could shake my hand. He is the father of friends I knew when I was a kid. I was surprised that he remembered me. It was quite an honor. The only thing that went wrong at the ceremony was that they spelled my middle name wrong in the program. Believe me, I was not happy. When I was handed my card during lineup, my face got very hot. Setting aside the thousands and thousands of dollars which have been paid to the school, the hours of torment studying for exam, the countless phone calls to the registrars, advisers, financial aid, etc. which have only ended in being passed down the line and becoming confused and frustrated beyond belief, after years of stress over idiot parking lots or lack thereof, AND probably the most infuriating aspect - being so careful to "type my name just as I want it to appear" (see earlier posts), they SPELL MY NAME WRONG! And they just happened to misspell the portion of my name which I felt was the most important. I had substituted my maiden name for my middle name because I wanted to honor my parents and my unmarried years of school. GRR!!! The registrar fixed it on my diploma but it was of course too late for the program. Boo... The registrar did admit it was human error on their part and took the blame. That was a first - the university taking responsibility instead of blaming it on the "dumb college students." Isn't that how it always goes? I try to do something special and to no avail. Oh well. My parents got the idea of what I was trying to convey and my diploma will be correct. But it was a definite Charlie Brown moment when I saw my name card. And I'm graduated which was the desired result. :o) I am now a college graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in History and a minor in Secondary Education certified to teach grades 8-12. And now for grad school.... haha, just kidding....for now.

Because of graduation, Christmas was a rushed affair. Steven and I never even got to put up a tree. If you know me personally, you know that Christmas is my favorite holiday. When I was growing up, my sister and I would start listening to holiday music in the summer. I just love everything about the holidays. So not decorating or doing the usual holiday preparations really made this year seem odd. It was rushed and over before I even got into the mindset of Christmas. Actually, the odd feeling is kind of fitting for 2009. It was a funky year for me. I honestly will not remember this year fondly except having graduated this year. It was rough in every aspect of my life. I am looking forward to beginning a new year, a new decade, a fresh start on a new portion of my life. I am not naive in thinking that the troubles from 2009 will not follow me into the new year, but perhaps I am better equipped than before. And though events cannot be foreseen, I was caught of guard by several major events this past year that perhaps I am more prepared for now. Regardless, I know that God has brought us through and will continue to guide and protect us in the future. This alone is sufficient comfort as long as I can keep that in thought.

Here's hoping for a happy new year and a great new decade for everyone!