That's It, I'm Done

As of Today, I now have my Bachelor of Arts, with a Major in English and a minor in Comparative Literature. I don't know what to feel about that, really. I had four really great years and made friends and joined a bunch of clubs, and now I get the pay-off with a day of family, liberal amounts of positive attention directed at me, and presents.

So why aren't I exactly smiling? First of all, the ceremony was a horrendous experience, one so bad that it's only benefit will be to inevitably provide pathos to my writing.

What happened? The two most hated words in the English language for me: clerical error. After four years, I'd accrued a decent 3.8 GPA, which meant that not only was I Dean's List for the Arts Faculty this year, but that I would graduate with distinction. Not ONLY that, but I was due to receive a Convocation Award - the Alison White Prize for Children's Literature.

GUESS whose parchment didn't say "with Distinction" on it. GUESS whose name card at the Convocation ceremony (which is given to the announcer to introduce me) didn't have "with distinction" OR any mention of my prize on it. GUESS who didn't (and NEVER WILL) have the chance to have her BA accomplishments read out loud in front of everybody the way all the other overachievers got to!

Those were pretty much the worst two hours of my life, spent stewing in a boiling rage and disappointment. The thing is, I knew it was an error, I knew I still won the Alison White Prize and I still had a 3.8 GPA, and all my parents and friends knew too, but I wanted it read. I wanted to be introduced as "AnimeJune, winner of the Alison White Prize for Children's Literature, with distinction" in front of everybody. Sure, it's pride. Sure, it's vanity. But I worked hard for those grades and I EARNED it, dammit. And those fucking incompetent goons over in the Faculty of Arts let one of their fucking best students COMPLETELY slip through the cracks.

And I know that there's nothing I can do about it now. I know I shouldn't let it spoil my day. But I think I'm entitled to rant on this subject for a little while longer. At least I salvaged some of my due - I told the announcer that my card was supposed to read "with distinction" (I figured I was pressing my luck by adding the Alison White Prize), so out of kindness he read it out that way so my family could here. It still felt like cheating. I mean, I could have been anyone, I could have just said it as a lark (like the guy who told the announcer his middle name was actually "Super Genius" and had it read that way). It's weird, I know. I'm lame. But how often do I get to convocate? I mean seriously. The University forgot everything about me.

So I'm pissed, what can I say?