The end

This afternoon, I finished the last final exam of my undergraduate degree. I actually think I aced it. Maybe since it was the last test, I subconsciously decided to use "excessive force"? In any case, there's nothing left to do now except wait for my Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Engineering to be mailed to me. There are no more deadlines, and no more obstacles. Nothing in my way at all. A lot of people have asked me in the past week, "How does it feel to be graduating from college?" I'd hate to dash anyone's hopes here, but for me there was no fanfare, no fireworks, no huge mental celebration as I walked out of the test. Honestly, it feels a little emptier than I expected. It's by no means a bad feeling, though.

Senior Design is also done, as you probably guessed. Our system broke just before we demonstrated it, because we decided to do a battery stress test the night before. Bad move on our part, but on the bright side, we got 5 and a half hours of continuous streaming. People still seemed fairly impressed by our demo, even though it was stationary and only half the cameras had power. Personally, I think it's because we look so damn good in suits.

This truly is an odd feeling. I feel like my life is pretty wide open from here on out. There are only a few things that are certain: I will work as a computer engineer for some period of time, I will eventually get a house and a dog, and I will die someday. Everything else is still up for grabs; lots of possibilities. That feels good.

The rest of this week is devoted to catching up on sleep, self-improvement, and spending time with my friends. Saturday my parents are going to come up, and we're going to go out to lunch with Brett and his parents, and hopefully Bauer as well. I'm looking forward to that a lot.

...I guess I can finally say "I did it." Really, though, we did it. Myself, my parents, my teachers and my friends all had a hand in me making it through college successfully. Thanks to everyone I know, and everyone I have known for being a part of my life. And I thank God for setting things in motion in such a way that I ended up where I am today. If there's one thing I know, it's that we don't get what we deserve, we just get what we get; I was dealt an amazing hand in life, and all the people who care about me have helped me play that hand the right way. I'm very fortunate, there can be no doubt about that.

-Ryan