Graduated

So I finally graduated from college. It had been a long time coming but it is an accomplishment that means a lot to me. In a time of cynicism, it is easy to think about college as an expensive experience with little reward. However, for me, it took me 16 years and will be proud of this piece of paper.

I first went to college in 2004, after financial difficulties I had to drop out and get into the job market. I got an EMT certificate and worked as an EMT in Chicago and for a short while I did 911 calls in Gary, Indiana. After 3 years I became a phlebotomist and a Dialysis technician. It was then where my urge to join the military resurfaced and I joined the Air Force.

Unfortunately, due to medical reasons I was honorably discharged which left me with depression, I was then able to bounce back thanks to art. This is where "Last Unicorn" was born from. In 2018 I decided to go back to school and finish what I had started a decade before.

Now, during a pandemic, I am able to hold my head up high as a graduate student. But my journey isn't over. I have begun my application to get my master's degree in Library Science and will start classes in 2021. That was the ultimate goal once I decided to finish my bachelor's, so in a way, I have not finished what I set for myself in 2018.

Until then, I have my art, my wife, and my dog to keep me going and conquering challenges I set formyself.