Yesterday at 6pm I was scheduled to receive my MA from University of Toronto. Obviously, I was not in attendance. So it appears I’ve done it again. I have deprived my parents of attending one of my graduations. Let’s be serious though, no one actually enjoys attending these drawn out, boring ceremonies anyway. How many times do we need to hear an honorary degree recipient talk about their life’s work as a wind engineer or an alpaca farmer. Besides, it’s not as if there is any shortage of these events to go to! Sure I didn’t attend the ceremony at University of Guelph when I got my BA, but I was on to bigger and better things and was in full swing at McMaster in the Midwifery programme. The ceremony to mark the completion of that program was much more meaningful. All the hard work, sacrifice, and sleepless nights needed to be celebrated. As for the MA, again it has set the stage for the next step; the next step being our wee adventure over here so I can do further study. After all that we have already done for my PhD including uprooting our life and moving here, never mind the bit that lies ahead like my dissertation, you can bet your sweet ass I will be going to that ceremony! Plus, that’s when I will get to wear all the fancy gear. Apparently, a PhD graduate from the University of Sheffield can be seen sporting a black velvet mortar board, a red gown (with bell sleeves) edged in green, and a red hood lined in green. Not too shabby. So mum and dad, you can mark it on your calendars now….December 2009, we will be making a trip back to good old Sheffield to celebrate in style. In the mean time, I’ve included a photo of my midwifery graduation so we can all pretend that it was my MA ceremony last night. Oh, and if you really feel the need to experience the ceremony, I understand a web cast is available through University of Toronto’s website: www.utoronto.ca/convocation
