The Defense

So I did it, I successfully defended my thesis. I was nervous beforehand, but I enjoyed the event, and the Prosecco afterwards, and the lunch, and the celebratory dinner with family. I did learn that, with a PhD in Education, I am not allowed to use Dr. in front of my name. Not that I would have done this seriously, but I learned that I am only allowed to write Ph.D. or Doctor of Educator after my name. I am pretty sure I will never do this. I was also not planning on attending the long and excruciatingly boring graduation ceremony, but I just learned that as a professor, when I attend these ceremonies to support my students, I have to wear a gown, and if I don’t attend my own I have to wear a very heavy and ugly yellow gown, instead of the lightweight black gown with the thing you receive at your own graduation – I am not sure if it is a hood or more of a vest-like thing, but apparently I have many of these painful ceremonies in my future and I will attend my own. I am not completely finished, I still have some corrections to do before the final submission, but I passed, and I will soon no longer have access to the student discount at my gym.