Glad-uation

The last couple of seminars came and went, the stress to get the final few grades in time was mounting, but it all soon disappeared into a calm and somewhat empty feeling - it was actually time for the graduation.

I wanted to write something after it was all said and done, but it actually didn't feel like it would have been possible, or even necessary. We finished our teacher training program after three, now seemingly not so long, years. It started slowly but nonetheless exciting. It felt like the right choice and everybody was eager to learn, improve, reflect and go on the way to become a teacher. The more time people spend with the teacher training program, the more they get to know how everything works, which is obvious - but in this case, it was not a good thing that you could peak behind the curtain more and more.

Although I spent my second out of three years studying and working abroad, my classmates and me started our last year with a similar opinion of everything. It is kind of amusing to think about that - my opinion changed because I encountered a whole new world, while studying abroad and my classmates just got fed up with everything that kept coming their way at home, but either way, we both ended up at the same waypoint. 

The closer you get to the end, the more the motivation creeps back in. At the end of the day, you still want to finish and graduate on time with everything in place. Added motivation came from the fact that apparently only a pretty low percentage of classes actually graduate within the time frame given for this Bachelors program. So if you have an opportunity to be part of this special group, you change to a different gear.

When it was all said and done, there was a strange feeling - it felt just like before. Nothing has changed. I guess that happens when regardless of the qualifications you receive, you feel like you just want to leave the institution as soon as possible, especially when you feel like it doesn't actually prepare you for your future as well as it should. 

My biggest motivation and moment of happiness were the new challenges that lie ahead. These last two terms felt like a basic course, and even there, a basic course that doesn't even offer you any good basics. Now that this is out of the way, I'm looking forward to a different study program. I will be able to focus more, almost solely, on the educational topics that have been the closest to me the last couple of years. 

So in a sense a Glad-uation means that you're both glad that you managed to finish your education, as well as being glad to start with the things that are in your wheelhouse and more advanced. Either way, it has a positive connotation.