The Plaid Pladd

Yesterday was potentially my last day on campus ever! I turned in my final paper, went to my last class, and am so not going to graduation. The bus ride home was probably one of the most anticlimactic Last Day of Schools ever. I felt absolutely no remorse/sadness, and not even really any relief. In an attempt to try to reclaim some of that Last Day of School Nostalgia, I’ve decided to make a list of Grad School Memories. I’m imagining it as a kind of Middle School Year Book, with the kind of entries I remember thinking about for days before actually writing in another person’s. If only Grad School had yearbooks, these would probably be some of the entries I would write to the people/things I remember most:

Goth Prof

Sadly not an actual picture of goth prof

Goth Prof, I know you were only a PhD student stuck teaching me cataloging first semester, but your class really meant something to me. It was probably one of the most practical in grad school, where we learned a practical skill and all of the assignments were directly related to cultivating it. You didn’t waste my time, which was awesome. Also, you dressed like you were going to a goth Ren Faire most days, which was also awesome. One time when I was absent my partner claimed you wore red, but I don’t believe it.

Yahoo Answers for Credit

Yeah, I've totally got a reference book for that

Reference class was another one where most of the assignments actually seemed practical. Answer random reference questions assigned by the prof, answer questions for the ipl… answer Yahoo! Answers questions. Yahoo! Answers, you may or may not be the future of reference services, and I’m not sure you’re really where the majority of people are now turning for their “information needs”, but I’m not going to complain about an assignment where I get to spend time with you, answering ridiculous questions instead of reading some boring article. Answering ridiculous questions (“What’s the PINKEST book in the library??”) is pretty much why I got into this business in the first place. That, and the mystique.

“I made this PowerPoint from scratch!”

Couldn't find a picture of them, but here is their natural habitat

Oh, People Who Take Library Grad School Seriously. You are hilarious! I sincerely enjoyed all of my time in class with you. The times you asked the professor what size font the final paper should be in on the first day of class. The times you asked questions about ridiculous hypothetical situations like “What should we do if a child vomits on the floor and another child tries to eat it? Could we be sued for that?” The times you actually thought the professors knew what they were talking about. The times you created elaborate reasons for your side of the books/technology debate (“What if all world governments collapse and we find ourselves living in a post-apocalyptic society? We probably won’t have electricity. We’ll need BOOKS to tell us how to SURVIVE.”) The way you would make a 20-slide PowerPoint for even the shortest of presentations. Yes, your antics pretty much kept me endlessly entertained, but also showed me to my own path, my grad school mantra, if you will. Which brings me to:

What are you going to do, fail me?

Not Pictured: Grad School

I’m pretty sure nobody fails grad school, at least not Library science Grad School. All you have to do is reassure the faculty (however erroneously) that yes, they are useful. While other people got worked up about the fonts on their PowerPoints, I just silently repeated my Grad School motto, “What are they going to do, fail me?” and stopped worrying about it.

“Teens like clothes, right?”

Oh, Professors Who Have No Clue What They’re Talking About! We’ve come so far since I first met you! Just think, back then I still had some respect for your ability to teach a class without sounding silly! Ha ha, and then that memorable day when you were forced to acknowledge that teenagers exist and, hey, some libraries actually have the gall to try to put on programs for them. What was your suggestion? Oh right, I remember because I wrote it down for evidence: “Teenagers spend a lot of money on clothes, so maybe you could bring in some ‘cool’ teens to tell the other teens how to dress.” Yeah, that was it. And maybe you might have heard a weird noise after you said that, as an undertone to the general uproar from those of us actually listening to you? Yeah, that was me, screaming with my mouth closed.

Magic Cupcakes!

I know this was only a few weeks ago

But you've got to admit, they're pretty awesome

Preschool BFF Reunion!

On Wednesdays, we wear pink

Megan!!! My favorite grad school memory by far is discovering that we have always been besties! Megan and I have been grad school friends for awhile–ever since we discovered that we are both awesome–but it wasn’t until my mom saw a post she made on my facebook wall and said, “You know, your best friend in preschool had that same name!” that we discovered we go way back. Natch it’s hard to remember all the deets from when you were three, especially when we both moved away shortly after.

Reunited and it feels so good!