Graduation!

I graduated! A day full of highs and not even the M25 could dampen my mood today, because today I can say I've got a BA (Hons) Degree in Business and Management.

It has been a tough three years since I started the course in late 2008, but it was worth it today just to be with my mother and father as we celebrated my graduation. I make no apologies for getting emotional today, there was a little bit of waterworks and I hope, no I know my grandparents were looking down on me from above. They all mean / meant so much to me and without them I wouldn't have been able to do it!

Managing my degree work along with my job has been difficult, and on times the pressure has been immense but not once did I think on giving up on this. I would have loved to have gone to University when I was younger, but circumstances dictated that it wasn't meant to be. Actually doing the degree now after working for so long probably helped me, as I had real life experiences on what was being taught, and if anything the moment is even sweeter.

The degree was done via distance learning, which is always a challenge but with the help and support of Kaplan Open Learning this experience has been brilliant. I was in regular communication with my fellow students but it's not until the graduation that you actually see their faces, that's because everything is done online so you only get to hear their voices. It was great to meet up with some of them yesterday and celebrate together.

I'm the one with my fist in the air by the way.