End of a personal era

Last week I finished what was probably my last real academic class as a student. Ever.

School has been the norm for me for much of the last 20+ years. I started school when "Walk like an Egyptian" was a hot new song and it's been the same basic pattern ever since. I did take one year off between college and grad school, and for the last few years of grad school I've only taken a couple classes for grades a year, but still my life from late August until June every year I can remember has basically revolved around school.

I remember running around the special kindergarten playground, learning how to spell "castle" in first or second grade, and my first real big school research project on Jackie Joyner Kersee in 5th grade. Had to look things up in books at the library back then. I remember the big change of going to middle school, the teacher who turned me on to Math, and the cliques and social awkwardness of adolescence. High school was a bit easier and, by the end, it just felt small and I was so ready to be out of there when it came time for college.

Now I'm not quite done yet at UCSB and I'll be back in a classroom in a couple weeks as a TA for an undergrad robotics course, but I won't be taking any more classes. I think I've had enough =)