A bit o' validation

Sometime last semester I got an official e-mail from Boise State inviting me, as a 'minority student', to a special luncheon where topics relevant to minority students would be discussed. Three hours later, I received an official e-mail from Boise State uninviting me. There had apparently been a clerical error and that message was sent to all BSU students instead of just those, you know, in the minority. So a couple weeks ago when I received an official e-mail from Boise State congratulating me for my academic achievement for the fall semester and announcing that I would be on the Dean's List for the College of Social Sciences and Public Affairs, I was excited but cautious. I told Chuck, but generally kept it close to the vest until further documentation arrived . . .

"What? What is this special certificate that came in the mail today? And how cute do I look in leggings? (please ignore my slightly off-kilter skirt)"
"Oh, it's my special certificate because I'm on the DEAN'S LIST! Because of my kickin' 3.6 GPA for Fall Semester 2008! And I'm standing next to Chuck's diploma because my special certificate is going up on the wall next to it!"

As you may recall, I took five classes during the fall semester - one intro level Criminal Justice class online and four upper division Communication classes in person. I got straight A's in my Comm classes, and a totally acceptable C in my online class (here's the thing: it was a one hundred level class, so pretty basic right? Wrong, we had three 3-5 page papers and five exams in that class! And the C was a 77%, so a high C. And the average grade in the class was a C. And I got that without buying the textbook. So I'm totally okay with it.)

I know that a lot of people get on the Dean's List, and I also know that both USA Today and a girl I went to BYU with categorize the Communication major as a 'joke of a degree' but I DON'T CARE. This means a lot to me. I'm actually pretty extremely smart (humble too) but in junior high and high school I always fell into the 'underachieving gifted' category. I skipped class . . . a lot . . . and didn't do my homework. Or some of my classwork. I managed to maintain a 'B' average but it was my rockin' test scores that did all the work, especially in wrangling me that fabulous half-tuition scholarship to BYU (What's that? You want to hear my test scores? Oh, you don't actually care and you think I'm pretty full of myself? Whatev, I got a 1400 on the SAT's and a 31 on the ACT. And I'm well aware that billions of people have gotten higher scores than that on them, and that's okay - they should brag on their blogs too!) 

Anyways, then I went to college. In my two semesters at BYU and my first four semesters at BSU I continued to be a wretched student. I skipped classes, didn't do my homework or some of my classwork, and managed to get two F's, two D's, and a couple C's. Oops, turns out college is a little trickier to 'wing' than high school was. The semester that I was pregnant with Clyde I stepped it up quite a bit - partially because I took two classes with Chuck and he kept me accountable :). But it wasn't until after Clyde was born that I realized how completely IDIOTIC I was for goofing off so much. And when Will was born, it just drove the point home even harder. If I had focused more and taken more than, you know, twelve credits a semester I would be done by now! I could have saved some money, and more importantly, I wouldn't be having to leave my sweet boys at home so often to go to school. I know I don't have to finish my degree right now but it's really important to me to graduate, even with the sacrifices it requires . . . which is why the Dean's List feels so great! If I'm making this choice to give up my evenings with my family, at least I'm serious about it, and it shows. I worked really hard last semester; I definitely earned those A's (do you remember those youtube videos?) And now I'm officially a college senior and I plan to graduate this December, stick the diploma on the wall and never think about it again.

Thank you, thank you.
P.S. Of course I'm planning a repeat this semester and then a three-peat next semester, but life happens, so no pressure.