I have graduated college. I encourage you to drink a highly alcoholic beverage in my honor. If you can't, don't worry about it - I already knocked back several just in case. Five long years it took me... And no, it doesn't seem like it went by in a flash. Come back to me in another five, and I might have changed my mind. Right now, I'm glad to be out, and to be making money.
I'm back at Crane, in the same group I was with last summer. They converted me to regular employee status just last week, and payday next week will reflect the salary increase. I just signed the lease on an apartment of my own, and I should have it decked out with furniture shortly after the afore mentioned payday.
The last semester of school was a roller coaster ride. It started off easy enough, but ramped up quickly. Around March I started blowing off the homework in one of my electronics classes to make time for my other classes, mainly senior design and signal processing. Come to find out, where homework is generally only worth 15% max in EE classes, this professor had decided to make it worth 30%. Ouch. Okay, I thought to myself, my first test score in there is good, I'll be fine. Then I bomb the second test in that class. Ouch again. Hmm... I should probably check my average... 59%, one point below passing. Osnap.
I start looking into things, and it turns out that I need this class to graduate. Further investigation reveals, however, that it's only the credits I need - instead of another gruelling electronics class, I could have taken nose picking 101. Alright, I tell myself, you're in this boat and out at sea, it's time to bail water. So, I buckle down, devote time to completing the homeworks, and though it forces me into almost three straight weeks of staying in the senior design lab until 2AM, I end up bringing my average to around a 65% before the final. Not anything to be happy about, but it's passing, and this means that as long as I pass the final, I'll pass the class.
Just to be sure, I study four solid days for the final. A week later the scores are posted... I ended up tying for the top score on the final, and got a B+ in the class. Not bad.
Everything else school-wise went noteably smoother. Finished my project in senior design (video digitizer with real-time image storage capability), aced the signal processing final, and managed a B in wine appreciation (kind've regret taking that one - not nearly as fascinating as I'd hoped).
The thing I really miss from college is one of my buddies. We lived together the last three years, and since he graduated along with me, it was time for him to go back home to (South) Korea. I've gone from seeing and joking around with him daily to only chatting with him over Facebook every day or so. Bummer. The current plan is for us all to get together in a couple years in Australia...
So, now I'm really all grown up, and almost on my own. As I said, I've got my own apartment, but there's nothing in it, so I'm still sleeping at Dad's place. I've got a project that's solely mine at work, and though it's got me a bit stressed out at the moment, I know I can tackle it, and I'm glad to have it (let alone a job at all). This is the point where I'd always imagined life would officially begin... Bring it.