So what that all boils down to is no time for blogging. Plus I haven't really had a topic I wanted to blog about. But as I am getting closer and closer to the close of my education (at least the kind where I actually attend classes and do homework) I began thinking more about graduation. Graduation for some is just a chance to say "Finally I am finished with this." That's all some people need.
But others choose to walk, to have a ceremony that says "Hell yeah I graduated. I kicked ass and got my degree." And considering how many people drop out of school before accomplishing this (especially the higher up in education you get) this is a chance to be justifiably proud of your accomplishment.
I personally intend to walk when I graduate in the spring. Partly so that I get that recognition of doing something not everyone has the determination to see through. And I get the added bonus of only being twenty when I get my Bachelor's. There won't be anything in ceremony that signifies this, but I'll know.
There's another reason I plan to walk though, one that has nothing to do with accomplishment. I want the black robe so that I can finally have a decent Harry Potter robe. Yes that's right, I am participating in a time honored tradition of accomplishment so that I can satisfy my nerd needs. But come on, those robes are the perfect cut for Harry Potter. It's what they used in A Very Potter Musical.
For me, the other important part of graduation is the acknowledgement of my academic achievements. That instead of sliding by on a C, I work to get mostly As and some Bs (although the Bs irk me. But I haven't gotten lower than a B+ so far at Western). So I strive for graduation with honors. I want the cords dang it.
Only problem with trying for this at Western is that what honors and highest honors are depends on the GPAs of the other students in your "college" (Like I'm in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences). So you're shooting blind most of the time. I discovered today that I need a 3.76 to graduate with honors. This means I need two As and a B+ this quarter. Or higher, but if either of those As becomes an A-, I'm not going to make it.
Oh well, whatever happens happens. I know that my family at least will just be proud I'm graduating. And my GPA will be high, whatever it ends up being. Now, onto the educational part of this post, which the word nerd in my is just absolutely thrilled about.
At the university level, graduating with honors is called graduating "cum laude" (coom la-day). Graduating with highest honors is magna cum laude. As with much traditional university language, these phrases are Latin (this is why students have no idea what's going on with the university choices and budget cuts. Well that and sometimes it seems like the university just makes stupid decisions).
Anyway, back to words. I went and looked up what these words actually mean, since of course sometimes we don't actually know the real translation of what we're saying. And the nerd in me can't resist knowing things about words.
So, the word cum is used as an adverb or preposition. It means with, when, amid, on each occasion, in the situation that, and supporting. I'm sure the exact translation depends on the instance you use it in.
The word magna is an adjective. It means large/great/vast, powerful, distinguished, skilled, pure, powerful, and notable. This word was probably applied a lot to generals or leaders of Ancient Rome.
And the word laude is our noun. It means approval, praise, merit, renown, and even glory. So if you graduate cum laude, you've graduated amid praise and glory, with merit, and in the situation that you've earned praise and renown. If you graduate magna cum laude you graduate vastly powerful and skilled in your glory, pure amid merit, and notable on each occasion of praise. Does that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
And even if you don't graduate cum laude, everyone graduates magna in my book.
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