and that, as they say, is that

I have been working on my Master's Degree for almost 5 years. One class at a time, I have been reading, writing papers, doing presentations and preparing research. Next week, I will finish the last class. After that, all (all?) I have to do is my capstone, or thesis. This means attending 2 more classes, one to choose the topic, one to write and present. In August of 2012 I will be all done. At that time, I could add a couple initials after my name on my email signature and business cards. I don't know if I will do that, as I am Norwegian and we generally don't like to call attention to ourselves. In the past 5 years, almost everyone I know, or am related to, asks me, "what is the Master's in?", meaning, what is the degree in, or for? The answer to that, if you are curious, is a Master of Science in Information Technology Management. What I find curious, though, is that no one has ever asked me why I am in pursuit of this degree, what do I need this piece of paper for? The answer: because I can. That may seem arrogant, perhaps even self centered.The thing is, I never, ever, thought I would be a college graduate, let alone finish graduate school. I grew up in a blue collar family, my dad had an eighth grade education, my mom finished high school, but no college. I fully expected to graduate high school, get a job doing something, have a life. College was for the other kids, the kids who took the advanced classes in high school, the ones whose families had money. I graduated 25th out of 100 in my high school. No algebra, no biology, no chemistry or physics, no foreign language. But I did learn 2 things in high school: I learned how to weld, and I learned how to write a paper. Thanks Sherrill. The first thing got me my first job, the second got me through my undergraduate and graduate school. My career path in life has not been linear, there have been many stops and detours along the way. Jobs, but no careers. Learning, but no education. The pieces of paper I earned along the way don't make me a better person, or smarter than the next guy, they are just part of the journey. The word career was not in my lexicon until 17 years ago. Neither was the word lexicon.