I Have a Bachelor's Degree!

For far too long I have not been able to tell the world I have an education. After graduating college in 2004 I moved back in with my parents. I needed a degree for the job I got at the county, and I felt good about that, but I was still so naive. Trying to talk about school with my friends never worked quite right. They had either not gone or thought it was a waste of time. Talking about with my family never went quite right either. It didn't seem like a big deal to them, and that always upset me because I didn't understand why.

Eventually, I moved to Las Vegas and got my job at the equipment rental company. It wasn't required to have a degree for that job, but it should have been, at least a certain amount of credits and professional experience. Technical writing and creating training material is not exactly entry level work. The main reasons a degree wasn't required were: 1) the higher-ups didn't think writing was very difficult; and 2) the owner didn't care about college degrees because he had 'made' it without one. In fact, we were told to not mention our degrees to anyone, aside from the other employees in our department. College degree bashing was practically company policy; it never failed that at the Christmas Party the owner's son would give a speech rejoicing how they were an un-college educated company.

The trend continues into the present. While where I work now appreciates degrees, and some jobs definitely require them, my job does not. I'm working as a temp in a receptionist/admin-type position. Because of that, talking about college doesn't necessarily come up. I assume most of the other employees have no idea I've gone to school, and wouldn't necessarily think to ask me. I tend to be quiet, and have found I don't enjoy talking about myself quite as much as I used to. Sometimes I get irritated that there is little opportunity to talk about my degree, but more irritated that I feel the others with degrees think I'm uneducated. I now work in a place where degrees are not looked down on, but I have gotten myself into a position where I am not required to use my education.

My old boss says that you already have the life you want. Apparently I want to bitch about no one caring about my college degree. But I am so proud of myself for it!

I love that I have a degree and I love that it's in English. I worked hard while in college to have a good GPA and was proud of myself when I graduated with honors. I took 6 Master's level courses online last year, before going to Greece, and my GPA is 3.85. Hopefully I can finish that in the next 2 years, and keep my awesome GPA. I've always considered myself to be an intelligent person, and having my degree, and the grades I've received, reinforce that concept in my mind. School is one of my proudest accomplishments, and learning the lesson that not everyone cares was a hard one, but I don't need any one else's praise or acknowledgement. I completed school on my own, and I can be proud of myself on my own.