Sunday, May 3, 2009

It's Done.

 I finished grad school. It is over. I am done!




HOOOORRRAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYY! YIPPPPEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! HALLELUJAH!!!!! 
I am so happy right now I can hardly contain myself!! My graduate work is complete; I am a Master of Education!!!!
The weight of a 300 pd gorilla and all 18 of her babies is completely off my back. I am breathing so much easier now!!




I am not the only one who earned this degree. I had a few others in tow:








My family has made several sacrifices during this time to help me through. I couldn't have done it without their patience, support, encouragement, and undying love. (Jaren, didn't want a picture with the cap; party pooper. But he earned it too!!) 

I am so grateful to my mom once again for taking 3.5 months away from her life to help me through the semester I had Larkin (Thanks to Dad too for sharing her.), and to all of my girlfriends (Vickie and Joanna especially) who watched Gunnar so willingly and thoughtfully on countless occasions so I could get to class on time. I am especially thankful for Jaren who believed in me for every paper, project, and assignment; he always reminded me that I was smart and that I could do it. I also appreciate how willing he was with the kids, to take them and then shut the door and keep them out so I could research, write, or read in quiet. I am grateful for my brilliant sister who kept such good tabs on me the whole time and would send me any article or idea I needed two seconds after I asked for it; she is a genius, and I love her. I am thankful for the support of another sister, Kim, who has been going through this exact experience the same time as I have. It has been nice to have someone who understood my feelings perfectly and could relate wholeheartedly. (One more week for you Kim! ENDURE!!) Thank you to everyone who believed in me and encouraged me to work towards this goal.

Several of my friends have asked why I was getting it. I am not currently teaching. What's the point if it isn't going to help me with a pay raise? Good question and sometimes I had to ask myself the same thing. A masters degree was always something I wanted to earn. When I finished my under grad I knew I wasn't going to be done there. I wanted this because I love academia, I really enjoy learning new things and writing about them. I like feeling smart. ;) I also wanted to do it as an example for my kids: you can do anything, no matter how daunting it might appear, if you really try. As cliche as it sounds, it's true! I know they won't remember much of this time, but I do hope someday it inspires them to seek education, have inquisitive minds, and become lost in books. I hope they always find joy in learning something new; I do believe educated people have every advantage in this world.









There is one more step before I completely close out this chapter in my life:





What's next? My friend Deanne and I always joke about how this time next year I will be working on a PHd. NO WAY!! I am done for a long long time. I am content with this. ;) I do have big plans for my photography business! Keep your eyes on kamee june photography...there are going to be some really cool things happening in the next month!! I am so excited about all of that I can hardly contain myself!! I am going to put all of my energies into that business now instead of spreading them between grad school and the biz. I also plan to play a little longer on the carpet with my children and read them extra books instead of rushing off to hit mine; I am going to talk a little more and listen more carefully to Jaren (instead of allowing myself to be writing the paper in my head while we talked); I am going to exercise a lot (I think that will be my new grad school. ;)); I am going to read books and magazines that have nothing to do with curriculum development or educational theory; I am going to breath a little deeper, and enjoy more free time.

Right now I am smiling because it's done, and because I DID IT!! (Oh, and I am smiling because I am graduating with honors!! I earned a 4.0 all 5 semesters! How that happened I have no idea, but GGGOOOOOOOOO KKKKKKKAMMMMMMMM!!!)

26 comments:

Kim L. said...

YOU RULE, Kam! You are totally an inspiration to me. GOOD WORK!

'T' said...

you did it! way to go :)

*Jess* said...

I'm so proud of you! :) You are definitely an inspiration!

Paige said...

Congratulations, Kamee!! You are an amazing woman. You are destined for great things! I am happy to call you a friend. :)

Tonya said...

congrats...huge congrats...

It must feel amazing to be done...good on you!

I can't wait to see your photog plans and news...

have fun hugging and squeezing those little ones a little extra...(loved the pics with their little caps :)

xoxo

Tonya

Julia Goolia said...

Congrats, Kamee! You rock!

Just Spotted said...

Congrats! You are a super star! Take time to enjoy.

@mie said...

Congratulations Kam! You are truly amazing and inspire more people than you will ever know!!! =)

Michelle S.J. said...

Yoy are AAAAAAAWWWWWWEEEEESSSSSOOOOMMMEEEE!

Sherami said...

Kam, you are my hero! You are amazing, and I am so happy for you! Can I call you and cry when I start back next fall and am freaking out about balancing it all? LOL!

Kris said...

Congratulations Kamee! That's AWESOME!

Our life is a bowl of Barry's said...

Congratulations!! Such an impressive accomplishment while being a mom/wife/photographer on top of it all. Glad you are HAPPY and DONE! Have a terrific graduation!

Elise said...

Congratulations Nuzzy! That is fabulous!

Britty said...

YayyyY!!! Congrats congrats congrats!!! Is it weird to say Im proud of you? Who cares. I am proud of you!!! 4.0?? Like SO impressive ;)

kristine said...

Hi Kam, I'm a blog stalker of yours and this is my first "debut" on your comments box but i just wanted to say congratulations on your accomplishments =)I too am in grad school set to graduate next year in 2010 and it's very inspiring to see someone make it through grad school, while taking care of a family, AND still managing to achieve honors! i wish you nothing but success in the rest of your future endeavors!

lauren said...

You ROCK MY WORLD!! Hopefully we can still be friends even though you are way more accomplished than me!!

From Russia With Love said...

Congratulations!!! We are so proud of your accomplishments! Way to go -- we are grateful for everyone who helped you. We wish we could be there to watch you 'walk'. Please know we will be thinking of you on that special day.
Love you so much -- Mom and Dad Nuzman

Kat said...

That's so awesome! I'm so proud of you. My boyfriend's law school commencement is the same day. You both are such troopers. I'll be joining your ranks soon. Thanks for the reminder that you don't have to think, "I'm not going to be 'doing' anything with this any time soon... so why get the degree?"

Kelley said...

Oh, Kam, way to go. I also went to grad school for "no good reason" and am so glad I did!

Carri said...

Congratulations! I'm so happy for your achievement...and it will SO influence your children even if they don't actually remember when you were going through it...way to go!

Tonkamom said...

Congratulations!! How fantastic!!

My daughter has that dress, too. LOL!

Liza said...

KAMEE!!!! I am so proud of you!!! What an accomplishment!!! What is your Utah schedule looking like? I haven't checked your blog for a while and look what I miss! My e-mail is: lbtelford@yahoo.com
I really want to see you! CONGRATS!!!

Lisa said...

It suits you well, that Honors Masters Degree look. So proud of you, I believe you accomplished this for completely the right reasons, love of education, and determination.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! Happy for you that you finished something so special to you. Nice Job!

Jen Fields said...

Go girl! with Honors too...Wow!!

Angela said...

You rock! I'm so impressed and so happy you accomplished something so big!
Congratulations!