On Saturday I graduated from St. John’s College. While I currently have mixed feelings about SJC, I won’t doubt that SJC changed me as a person. Four years ago, I was one crazy man. Now, I’m much more mature and humble. Here is a picture of me and Brittany after graduation:
While St. John’s may have changed me as a person, I’m still always learning how to become a better man.
Notice how the diploma is rolled up. Right away I became attached to how it looked. I didn’t want any crumbs, smudges, or it bending. I wanted to keep it perfectly as I had received it. Brittany and I were taking extra precautions to make sure it stayed in it’s perfect condition.
During our last few hours together, we went to the grocery store to buy a mailing tube to keep the diploma in there to prevent it from anything falling on it and bending it. Brittany had left the diploma in my car on the passenger seat. As we were getting back into the car, I watched Brittany unintentionally sit on my diploma. After all the work to find something to protect it, in the end, we bent it and created lines. Right away I felt devastated and alerted her to what she had done. Brittany tried to roll it out and fold it saying it’s ok, but immediately I could see that it lost it’s perfect condition.
It would have been easy for me to loose my cool and start yelling at her, but I took and deep breath and realized my last moments with Brittany until August shouldn’t be us arguing. But I think the diploma loosing it’s perfection helped me develop as a man more. I do believe things work out for a reason and for Brittany to sit on the diploma, I was being tested on who I love more. Did I love Brittany or the perfect condition of the diploma? Of course I love Brittany more. I couldn’t help but shrug my shoulders and say “Oh well”. I would trade in a perfect diploma for time with Brittany any day.
