I had my graduate ceremony today, even though I don't completely finish my program until the end of July. It's a little weird to walk a few months earlier than I feel I should, but it's better than having to go back to walk after a few months of being out of school.

I don't generally feel celebratory about graduations, mostly because I question the meaning of my own. I feel like I fooled the university somehow, like I was able to fake it through my year here long enough to get a Master's. I'm not going to feel smarter or more capable the moment I get my diploma, and I'm pretty sure I'll feel similarly when/if I get my MFT license. With this kind of attitude towards my own education, you can see why I wouldn't really be into my own graduation.

It wasn't until after the ceremony that I spent a little time weighing on what life has been like for me this past year. I may not have felt strongly about my academic education, but I'll be damned if I wasn't somehow transformed emotionally and personally in the same time span.

And ultimately, that's what it's all about, isn't it? Today I celebrate my interpersonal and intrapersonal growth from my year in grad school. And today's ceremony will remind me that long after I've finished my program, I will remember how much it has tested my strength, and I will remember that I am capable of more than I think I'm capable of.